The exhibition Birth: nascere non basta opens today at the Library of the University of Milano-Bicocca. This is the first exhibition organised by the Museo Diffuso Bicocca (MuDiB), the Bicocca multi-venue museum that brings together not only the various departments of the University but also the individual spirits of our local community.
Exploring the intricate theme of birth, the exhibition examines four distinct thematic areas: the birth of human beings, of ideas, of plants, and of museums. Artefacts, photographs, video testimonies and writings all illustrate experiences, projects and research activities. The last section of the display is devoted to the birth of MuDiB itself, showing the University’s heritage alongside artefacts from other cultures and university museums in the surrounding area. The aim is to pique visitors’ curiosity and encourage them to explore these collections firsthand.

The Bicocca district is strengthening the close bond between the University and the Pirelli headquarters. This area, which is now home to both institutions and to the Pirelli Foundation and its Historical Archive, traces its birth to 1906, when Giovanni Battista Pirelli acquired 116 hectares between the municipalities of Niguarda and Greco Milanese in order to expand production beyond the factory in Via Ponte Seveso.
The Pirelli Foundation contributes to the University exhibition by illustrating the boundless potential of the versatile material that is rubber. Initially used for making tubes, belts, valves and gaskets, rubber gradually permeated nearly every facet of daily life, from sports to leisure. Pirelli introduced numerous rubber goods to the consumer market.
However, it was in the late 1940s that rubber ventured into the realm of design. In its partnership with the artist Bruno Munari, Pirelli started making toys in foam rubber, reinforced by adjustable metal wires. In 1949 came Meo Romeo the cat and in 1953 came Zizì the monkey, winner of the first edition of the Compasso d’Oro the following year. These toys became iconic symbols of international industrial design.
With their simplicity of form, lightweight construction, and educational value, these revolutionary toys left an indelible mark, and they will be on display at the University of Milano-Bicocca until 31 December 2023.

A recently published book tells the story of a unique entrepreneur

It is a matter of culture, as well as an ability for concrete visualisation (which may sound like a contradiction in terms but it actually is not) – these are the two conditions that distinguish the stories of many (all) real entrepreneurs. A vision encompassing both present and future, a desire to take a chance on oneself, a talent for choosing and engaging the right people, a moderate taste for risk, and a touch of inanity –  these, and many others, are the traits that, in different proportions, characterise those entrepreneurs who succeed in bringing a project to life. Learning about their vicissitudes, exploring the various steps undertaken and understanding their mistakes and triumphs can be useful to everyone (not only entrepreneurs). This is why Le avventure di un innovatore (Adventures of an innovator) is worth reading, a book written in collaboration by Federico Marchetti (also the story’s protagonist) and Daniela Hamaui (long-standing journalist and passionate about stories). Its subtitle reveals most of its content: Il sogno americano, tutto italiano, del fondatore di YOOX (The all-Italian American dream of the founder of YOOX).

It all started in the year 2000, when internet was accessible to only a few – kind of our current times’ stone age, when buying online was the exception rather than the rule. Yet, in Italy, someone was able to foresee the future – Federico Marchetti, a small-town boy who went to study in the United States, developed a passion for the web and came back to Italy to found his own company: YOOX. A simple yet brilliant intuition: purchasing major brand clothing that remained unsold at the end of the season and giving them a second chance. An idea that, in other words, shows a knack for conceiving a market that did not exist while providing such market with the means to purchase those unique products on a website. YOOX started as a warehouse in the outskirts of Bologna, and it turned into the first e-commerce fashion warehouse in the world. It was a success, and Marchetti tells the story (with Hamaui’s help) in his book.

Thus, in about 300 pages, readers learn about all the steps undertaken by Marchetti up to today, how his company became the first Italian unicorn company without neglecting principles such as respect for the environment and people, through its commitment in a number of social causes.  Pages full of a life rife with unexpected events and chances, as well as encounters with some leading players in the fashion industry and tech giants, and even King Charles III, and without overlooking extreme challenges such as the global project for “sustainable” fashion that, by uniting technology, humanism and artificial intelligence, might be able to take on one of the greatest issues of our times: the climate change crisis.

Marchetti and Hamaui’s book deserves to be read to the end, applying some pragmatism and with no need to agree with all its content, yet drawing a lesson from what is, perhaps, a unique story that can teach a few things to most of us.  A conclusive quote stands out, amongst many excellent ones: “Open up, don’t be afraid (…). Be inquisitive and brave. To do business, one must be bold, challenge expectations and explore the unknown, get inspired by what strikes the imagination.”

Le avventure di un innovatore. Il sogno americano, tutto italiano, del fondatore di YOOX (Adventures of an innovator. The all-Italian American dream of the founder of YOOX)

Federico Marchetti (with Daniela Hamaui)

Longanesi, 2023

A variable combination of factors determines the impact of corporate relationships

Collaboration as a way to grow together – a notion that, by now, should be pretty much taken for granted, though this is not always the case, due to too many constraints and too many misgivings. Yet, it is the right path to follow. This is the topic examined by Arcangela Ricciardi in her contribution recently published in Quaderni di ricerca sull’artigianato (Research notebooks on craftsmanship).

Entitled “Microimprese e innovazione: il ruolo delle reti d’impresa” (“Microcompanies and innovation: the role of corporate networks”), this research paper is based on an observation: in the past few years, the ability of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in engaging with and managing innovation has been a much-discussed topic of which, however, we still know little about. The question we need to ask is, what are the factors that promote and inhibit innovation in these companies? The aim of Ricciardi’s study is to fill in some of these gaps, starting with the analysis of what happens within corporate networks. In fact, the application of innovation can move through virtuous relationships between production organisations – in other words, those networks could be the most useful strategic tools in igniting the engines of innovation, especially within the specific context of microcompanies.

Ricciardi supported her argument with on-site research, in the form of various semi-structured interviews with microentrepreneurs and managers of Italian networks. The outcome is twofold: on the one hand, we see the potential of networks as drivers of innovation, but, on the other hand, they can also act as barriers to it. This conclusion is only seemingly contradictory, as what makes a difference are the characteristics distinguishing the networks that act on enterprises, which in their turn respond in different ways to their demands. Thus, it is not merely a matter of technology, but also of people, which is tantamount to saying that being part of a network is a good starting point for growth, but it is not the only way to do so.

Microimprese e innovazione: il ruolo delle reti d’impresa (“Microcompanies and innovation: the role of corporate networks”)

Arcangela Ricciardi

Quaderni di ricerca sull’artigianato, Volume 2/2023, May-August

Enterprises need proper information – free, independent, top-quality and thus reliable information – able to “give a voice to those who do not have one” and to represent, regardless of politics and power, the values and interests that feed an “open society”, a liberal democracy. And also capable to create a space in which to debate the principles guiding those entrepreneurs who drive research and innovation, generate employment and wealth, are agents for change, because companies compete on markets that thrive on confidence – confidence supported by verified facts and data, which then influence investments and production as well as consumption decisions. Misinformation is indeed the enemy of effective competitiveness, and the convergence of rights and duties, freedom and responsibilities, individual interests and general strategies – the essence of enterprises – requires places and spaces in which to exchange thoughts, vent criticism, evaluate and assess in an open and transparent manner.

It all sounds like good general political theory, enduring rhetorics applicable to any political, economic and cultural process enveloping our day-to-day life.

After all, democracy, competition, corporate freedom, environmental and social sustainability are all interconnected and no economic development can exist outside a framework encompassing democratic values, welfare structures, scientific research and highly balanced social relationships – the whole European and Western political culture of the 20th-century provides substantial proof of this.

Hence, such rhetorics must be promoted – especially in such controversial and contradictory times as ours, marked by dramatic geopolitical tension, weighed down by presumptuous authoritarian temptations, theories on “anti-liberal democracies”, populist tendencies and a worrying increase in fake news, sensationalism and post-truth, as well as the extraordinarily fast-paced dissemination of Artificial Intelligence and its creative processes, which not only deeply affect the representation of reality but actually “generate” reality, through the creation of deceivingly fake arguments and images able to radically prejudice political judgement, cultural attitudes, habits and consumption. An “artificial truth” that’s corrupting real life.

Marco Tronchetti Provera, leader of Pirelli – which this year supports the “Premiolino”, the oldest and most prestigious Italian journalism award – made a very valuable observation on the current state of affairs: “In today’s world, knowing the value of a writer able to not merely report but also interpret a piece of news, is key to democracy.” Therefore, “if, going forward, we continue to focus on such writers, on their value and their cultural education, and if we make space for younger writers to flourish, we can then be sure that Italy will remain a free country. This does not just apply to Italy, it should happen everywhere.”

A focus on young journalists represents a strategic decision – media crisis notwithstanding, Tronchetti insists that, “the value of information is enhanced by people who look at facts, try to comprehend them and then report them on newspapers, TV and other media. These are the kind of writers we need to train and nurture, “so as to ensure, over time, that readers continue to have the opportunity to form their own opinions.”

Indeed, the “Premiolino” award – chaired by Chiara Beria di Argentine, is not just an award. It also represents an opportunity to yearly assess the state of information and perpetuate the principles uniting freedom of press and democracy, bearing in mind how important proper information concerning the economy, finance, employment and market transparency is, too (after all, the award was founded in 1960 by two entrepreneurs from Milan with a deep belief in public values, Piero and Giansandro Bassetti).

The latest edition – the award ceremony took place on 2 October at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan – was not only informed by Article 21 of the Italian Constitution (“All shall have the right to express their thoughts freely by speech, in writing, and by all other means of communication. The press shall not be subjected to any authorisation or censorship”) but also by the First Amendment of the American Constitution (“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”). The event also resounded with the words that Thomas Jefferson, one of America’s founding fathers, wrote in a 1787 letter to his friend Edward Carrington.

Words that represent a veritable cornerstone for freedom of information within a democratic community: “I am persuaded myself that the good sense of the people will always be found to be the best army. They may be led astray for a moment, but will soon correct themselves. The people are the only censors of their governors: and even their errors will tend to keep these to the true principles of their institution. To punish these errors too severely would be to suppress the only safeguard of the public liberty.” Therefore, Jefferson insists, “The way to prevent these irregular interpositions of the people is to give them full information of their affairs thro’ the channel of the public papers, and to contrive that those papers should penetrate the whole mass of the people.”
The conclusion is clear-cut: “The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.”

A thesis debates the crucial aspect of startups’ organisation and management

New enterprises and therefore new perspectives, perhaps – as there is no guarantee that a new enterprise will be able to endure and, above all, to provide better quality than others. It is, after all, a matter of skill and entrepreneurship, a matter of leadership.

It is indeed around the relationships between leadership and new enterprises that Emem Akpanekong’s research work revolves, a thesis on the topic of business administration debated at the Liberty University, School of Business, Lynchburg (USA) last August.

The study takes its cue from an observation: startups perform a vital role in creating job opportunities and new markets, as well as in the economic development of a nation. It is however important to realise that these enterprises face several challenges, especially “at the initial stages because of the highly uncertain business environment.” Thus, as well as technical and organisational skills, these newly founded businesses also need the kind of leadership able to help them through their various development stages, from “infancy to adolescence and adulthood”.

In order to explore this topic, Akpanekong first tackles the theoretical aspects and then the practical ones, analysing a single qualitative case study comprising 17 founders and leaders of four startups.

From all this, the author identifies four main themes: the impact of leadership behaviour on a startup’s culture; the leadership approaches that drive a startup’s success; the development of leadership behaviours arising from a change in a startup’s business environment; the enhancement of organisational performance as driven by the development of leadership.

Emem Akpanekong’s thesis attempts to align theories and data concerning a complex theme, and thus takes us a step further in the understanding of that particular corporate culture that is typical of enterprises new to production and to the market.

Impact of leadership for startup companies

Emem Akpanekong

Thesis, Doctorate in Business Administration

Liberty University, School of Business, Lynchburg (USA)

The challenging shift towards an increasingly virtual society

So much so for manufacturing and industry – if we take a closer look to what is happening within the economic and social system, its increasing digitalisation, more pervasive networks and ubiquitous social media all lead us to look beyond the concept and image of a “liquid society” developed over 20 years ago towards a “gaseous modernity” instead. A brand-new notion that still needs to be fully explored, yet a notion to be fully reckoned with, also in terms of production systems. Reading the latest essay by Francesco Morace – “Modernità gassosa” (“Gaseous modernity”) – does just that.

The author identifies and describes an increasingly volatile society that is dissolving through social media and an increasingly dominant digital dimension. Morace attempts to answer a question: why is our reality dematerialising to the point of having become “gaseous”? With social media, we entered an era of self-consumption: not only the vaporising of our images but also of our existence. Thanks to the endless options available to us we feel freer than ever before, yet the gaze of others subjects us to unprecedented social pressure, and the danger of a slip up is never too far away. Digital technologies engender new opportunities while also making the employment sphere much more unpredictable. Artificial intelligence progresses, together with its wild fallacies, and it is likely to make us dumber. This was supposed to be a peaceful era, yet we find ourselves in the middle of conflicts that make no sense at all.

Morace analyses the tangible consequences of a complex scenario that affects all our lives, and tries to describes some “flying techniques” needed to tackle it. Techniques that everyone will find useful, including businesspeople who will have to adapt their work and production culture to such shifting and new circumstances – a kind of challenge towards a new production culture able not to waste the past yet capable to reach a new an unexpected present.

“Modernità gassosa” (“Gaseous modernity”)

Francesco Morace

Egea, 2023

Over the past four years, almost six million Italians (5.8 million to be precise) visited a corporate museum, corporate historical archives or an industrial archaeological site, driven by the desire to better understand what lies behind the iconic objects embodying the best ‘Made in Italy’ qualities, learn about the history, art and design of companies, and understand the relationships between industry and territory. Visitors are primarily young people (mostly aged between 30 and 44 years), well-educated, mainly from the northern regions and consider the experience “educational and instructive”. Further, amongst the 34 million Italians that – again over the past four years – travelled a distance or at least out of town for the day, 21% would be happy to visit a corporate museum, while 17% has already done so. An interesting opportunity to develop “industrial tourism” and a rather stimulating prospective for those who care about the dissemination of economic history, the relaunch of corporate culture and a more widespread and responsible understanding of the role of our manufacturing companies and services in enhancing Italy’s economic development.

The most visited museums include the Ferrari Museum in Maranello, followed by the Industrial Village of Crespi d’Adda in the province of Bergamo, the Alfa Romeo Historical Museum in Arese, the Lavazza Museum in Turin and the Olivetti Historical Archives in Ivrea – there’s certainly room for more, to enhance further businesses throughout Italy.

The data comes from a research study entitled “Il turismo industriale in Italia: dimensioni, percezione e potenzialità di sviluppo” (“Industrial tourism in Italy: dimensions, perceptions and potential for development”), curated by Nomisma and commissioned by Museimpresa (the Italian Association of business archives and corporate museums founded over 20 years ago at the instigation of entrepreneurial associations Assolombarda and Confindustria, which today counts over 130 members and institutional supporters, including large, medium and small companies and respected economic and cultural institutions), and will serve as a basis for a genuine industrial tourism monitoring hub to measure its extent and potential and to evaluate its impact on businesses and territories. It’s an attainable goal: the creation of more and better synergies between corporate museums and science and architectural exhibitions, historical associations, science and economics festivals, cultural events (with a focus, for instance, on literature, cinema and photography related to labour and industry).

The study was presented last weekend during the Museimpresa’s annual conference held in Matera, in Pisticci (at the Essenza Lucano Museum), in Altamura (with an event at the Vito Forte Bread Museum, Oropan), and in Andria at the Confetto Nucci Museum. The theme of the conference was “Carte d’archivio, mappe di sviluppo” (“Archival documents, development maps”) and included a focus on the South of Italy, too. It’s aim is not only to enhance the manufacturing industry – a key cornerstone for better balanced economic and social growth – but also to reflect on how negative side effects such as so-called overtourism (when cities and town are taken over by hurried, sloppy tourists who basically don’t care about the beauty of environments and territories) can be avoided while promoting tourism, emphasising the cultural, architectural, scientific and industrial values of sites steeped in history, entrepreneurship, and the ability to “do, do well and do good”.

Indeed, those territories where most corporate museums and archives are located provide interesting examples of how enterprises, science, technology and culture interlink. They accommodate “beautiful factories”, that is, architecturally well-planned factories that are environmentally sustainable, bright and safe (there are a few instances of them nowadays, including the Pirelli plant in Settimo Torinese designed by Renzo Piano, nicknamed the “cherry orchard factory”), confirming the virtuous relationships between productivity and high-quality work, under the banner of true “industrial humanism”. And it is indeed within the connections with the local culture and traditions of productive districts (mechanics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, automotive, agro-food, wood and furnishing, etc.) that the characteristics typical of ‘Made in Italy’ quality are best showcased: a synergetic interaction between competitiveness and social inclusion, a deep sense of beauty (design is its main instance) and a dynamic propensity for innovation.

In fact, the geographical map of our corporate archives and museums tells the story of an enterprising, hard-working Italy, aware that its own history is a key lever in the country’s sustainable development – a valuable vital economic and cultural heritage on which to build a better future for the new generations.

A lever that must be enhanced, especially now, with a struggling economy, low growth and concerns for high inflation and rates (which are stunting investments and inflating the public debt, thus depriving public projects of the resources needed for reforms and development). And, once more, it’s up to businesses to do their utmost to ensure that their production and export abilities can continue to keep the GDP scraping just above a threshold of “0. …”.

And to do so, it’s essential that we divulge our entrepreneurial wealth and heritage – both past and present – in a better and more extensive manner than ever before, through an open, critical and honest dialogue engaging companies and figures from the cultural world, such as literature, theatre and cinema, so as to engender a dialogic relation between know-how and its narration, as well as making the most – yet another aspect highlighted by the Nomisma study – of digital opportunities.

What should this narration include, then? Well, the ability of industries, banks, insurances and utility companies to “produce beautiful things that the world likes“ (as by the brilliant definition by historian Carlo M. Cipolla), a talent that was and remains a development tool benefitting the territories native to such businesses and a unique competitiveness asset on the international markets.

This is why industrial tourism – the focus of the Nomisma study commissioned by Museimpresa – not only represents a journey encompassing sites of labour and industrial production, but embodies, above all, an inspiring path to discover the significance of the bonds that unite sciences and humanities, new technologies and a strong sense of community.

A journey, indeed, across the open confines of the extraordinary social capital constituted by “hands that can conceive”.

The Pirelli Foundation at Open Archives 2023 by Rete Fotografia

Archivi Aperti (“Open Archives”), the event promoted by Rete Fotografia, now in its ninth edition, is set to run from 13 to 22 October. The theme for 2023 will be The Archives of Italian Photographers: A Heritage to Cherish.

For this event, the Pirelli Foundation is offering guided tours of the exhibition Beyond the Circuits: Formula One and the Tyres that Revolutionised its History, which explores the company’s history in racing and the products it has developed for competitions. Using original archive materials, it will give visitors a chance to find out more about the photographers and agencies that have immortalised Pirelli’s commitment to the world of motor racing. It will also look at their relationship with the company. The vast photographic collection now in our Historical Archive contains thousands of shots on a whole range of supports (positives, negatives, slides, and more). Together they retrace over a hundred years of triumphs in motorsport, technological research and partnerships on both track and road, following the design and development of tyres that have left an indelible mark on the sector. These range from the Stella Bianca to the Stelvio, by way of the P7 through to the P Zero, and up to the very latest P Zero E. This heritage documents the invaluable contributions made by Pirelli technicians and engineers behind the scenes at the F1 championship, and Pirelli’s presence in this prestigious competition, from 1950 to 1956 and from 1981 to 1991 (before its triumphant return in 2011), together with the victories of drivers who have made the history of this sport – from Juan Manuel Fangio and Nelson Piquet to Nigel Mansel and Michael Schumacher – who not only raced but triumphed on the world’s greatest circuits. The display also features prominent names in the world of photography who received commissions from Pirelli, and who became champions themselves in the racing community. They range from the Foto Strazza agency – one of the most famous studios in the world of sports – to Federico Patellani, a great photographer who created the first covers of Pirelli magazine in the early 1950s. And in more recent years, we find Italian agencies such as Studio Colombo and Europhotocine, and international organisations that Pirelli still works with today.

There are two guided tours, starting at 5 p.m. and at 6.30 p.m. from the entrance on Viale Sarca 220, Milan.

Admission is free. Booking required, while places last. Click here to book:

Beyond the Circuits: Formula One and the Tyres that Revolutionised its History – Archivi Aperti 2023 – Pirelli Foundation

“Democracy and markets share a principle of equality and all strive to implement it.” Words by Martin Wolf, respected columnist of the Financial Times, and also one of the key messages delivered by Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the annual Assembly of entrepreneurial association Confindustria held in mid-September (and mentioned in last week’s blog post). A message meant to highlight – with reference to the Italian Constitution – the important function that corporate values and responsibilities fulfils in promoting employment, well-being and wealth, as well as their essential role as part of a social capital in which competitiveness blends with solidarity, and productivity with fostering and social inclusion.

Markets and confidence; long-term relationships; institutions able to guarantee such confidence and boost trade without engendering excessive inequality, misinformation and a strong imbalance between those who can stay abreast with the economic situation and those who have to deal with its consequences. No interventionism or economic sovereignty, nor “plundering financial practices” or a scramble for profit to the detriment of job security.

There is, indeed, a strong bond between individual entrepreneurship and a sense of belonging to a community and, as the best 20th-century economic writings (those that inspired the Italian Constitution) teach us, economic development, welfare and democracy are mutually related. Severing these ties would stunt growth, negatively affect the social balance and, ultimately, shatter the social pact on which liberal democracy – and its virtuous blend of rights and duties – is founded.

The future depicted by Mattarella, as he referred to the wise and forward-looking teachings of Neapolitan Enlightenment philosophy, is based on the civic economy (which encompasses enterprises and the market, and embodies a community and civic spirit). A type of economy that can also be termed “circular”, “fair” and “sustainable”, informed by liberal values, social Catholic thought and socialist reformism – the great idealistic and political currents that run through the Italian Constitution.

Let’s look at the market, then – a market that needs to be properly managed as an open and well-regulated physical and virtual space, that must be transparent and accessible, and kept in check and guaranteed by sanctions punishing those who break its rules. A market whose foundations are built on a value that cannot be weakened, to avoid endangering the market itself: the value of confidence. Confidence of investors and savers and mutual confidence between financial players. Confidence between operators and the public authorities stipulating investment conditions and policies and their related monitoring practices. Confidence in the information on which we base our decisions.

Our businesses are well aware of all this, as their survival depends from the European and international markets. They need open and efficient markets to sell their goods in niches with higher added value (i.e. where confidence is even more essential). Indeed, they recover capital and invest in international companies on the markets, and they know full well that jeopardising confidence in the markets means they will end up in a severely enfeebled position before an increasingly tougher, selective and stricter competition.

Unfortunately, over the past few weeks, there’s been talk of a crisis of confidence affecting Italy. Last week, the Financial Times voiced the concerns of international investors, criticising the amendments implemented as part of the Capital Markets decree that could alter the dynamics between companies’ majority and minority shareholders, undermining their governance. Further reprimands were directed towards governmental policies on non-performing loans, seen as “distorting the capital market” (according to the Center of European Law and Finance), and banks heavily complained about taxes on so-called ‘extra profits’, forcing the government to backpedal on such measure, which nonetheless left a level of doubt that can’t be good for the market.

Spread performance of Italian and German public bonds (also as compared to Greek bonds, better regarded and therefore cheaper) is further proof of this state of affairs – “Lack of confidence in Italy” headlines La Stampa (21 September). Newspaper diatribes aside, it’s clear that the increasingly confusing choices of a government that keeps on arguing with the EU, persists in refusing to sign off ESM policies, talks about postponing the reforms of the Stability and Growth Pact, and whose economic transactions (see ITA, TIM, and so on) remain fragile, is raising more criticism and fears rather than generating long-term security in the financial markets. Moreover, uncertain policy makers represent one of the most common concerns on the markets, warding off investors that might otherwise show an interest in our country.

And if we’re looking for more authoritative evidence, the remark made by Robert Shiller – Yale professor and 2013 Nobel Prize winner in economics – deftly outlines the situation: “International investors are disappointed. Too much improvisation” (la Repubblica, 24 September). And he goes on to assert, looking across the political board, “Populism, whether from the right or the left, means the very opposite of what it sounds like: it is the disease of a country that does not believe in itself and of a political class that has given up governing it with a precise strategy, falling back onto extemporaneous or illogical measures instead. The result is an erratic narrative that does not lead to growth.”

Basically, we need to pay heed to the international markets, especially in a country like Italy, which needs to build up confidence abroad in order to sell its goods (our growth heavily depends on export) as well as to raise the resources needed to finance its own very high public debt, and, of course, to attract qualifying investments to support enterprises that will generate development, employment and wealth.

Talking about the markets, there’s another trend we should keep an eye on: a trend where market players counter the international financial markets with “local markets”, that is, “profiteers” like banks, stock exchanges and the people themselves. Several years ago, in 1994, Clemente Mastella – a generally polemical politician and Minister of Labour during Berlusconi’s first government – proclaimed, “Some only wanted to focus on the international markets, of which we all talk about yet have no idea where they actually are. I also looked at local markets, so I can reassure the elderly that their pensions are safe.”

Over time, ministers and government representatives from both the centre-right and the centre-left emulated Mastella.

Yet, although “We support local markets, not the financial ones” makes for a good slogan on social media or TV debates, it doesn’t reflect the truth and actually damages precisely those involved in “the local markets”.

In fact, the performance of purchasing power and pensions is also dependent on the value of money (affected by the spread), on inflation, and on rates of economic growth heavily swayed by international investments, which in turn influence widespread wealth, too – in short, it all depends on the confidence levels steering the markets – all markets, from international to local markets, one after the other.

We should therefore learn to understand and respect the markets, as what’s at risk is the health of our economy as well as the quality of life of our community.

(Photo: Getty Images)

A recently published book analyses the close bonds between human factor and technological innovation

Individuals above all, even in an era that seems to be ruled by the digital transformation of production (and in many cases also of our individual lives) – indeed, at the end of each “corporate story”, we find what is technically termed the “human factor”: women, men, young people, elderly people who always succeed, despite all, in having the last word. It should be clarified that this is not about whether technology – or humanity – will triumph at all costs, it is about something different, something more complex and pervasive, and understanding this self-contradictory yet real mix of conditions is key to fully comprehend where an enterprises is headed (and which tools we should use to steer it in our chosen direction). It is around this critical knot of issues that the research by Tatiana Mazali (sociologist specialised in cultural and communication processes), Paolo Neirotti (engineer specialised in strategy and organisation) and Giuseppe Scellato (economist) revolves around, outlined in their collaboratively written book L’impresa competente. Scelte manageriali, lavoro e innovazione digitale (Competent enterprises. Managerial choices, employment and digital innovation).

Their work starts by acknowledging the complexity of the ongoing transformation, termed the Fourth industrial revolution, a little-studied phenomenon as yet, in which, together with current hyper technologies, the human factor continues to play a determining part. The human ability to promote or hinder innovation is the notion underlying Mazali, Neirotti and Scellato’s reasoning, who tackle the topic by combining conclusions from the fields of sociology, organisational studies and the innovation economy.

At its heart, then, we find people who rise up thanks to their skills, experience, attitudes, life stories, future aspirations. The authors address this set of themes by condensing years of analysis and, above all, by looking at the results of field research that investigated the current relationships between technologies and skills.

The book, just over 150 pages, begins by giving a snapshot of the ongoing transformation and is then subdivided into three main sections: corporate digital investments and required skills, how such skills are changing, and an analysis of the relation between innovation, training and organisation, and also comprises various significant accounts from actual companies (of every type and size), which enhance and round off their theory.

Mazali, Neirotti and Scellato’s work (masterfully edited by Annalisa Magone), comprehensively tackles a complex and constantly evolving topic, and does so by including some pointers useful to understand it and, above all, by providing a toolbox that readers will be able to use once they reach the end.

L’impresa competente. Scelte manageriali, lavoro e innovazione digitale (Competent enterprises. Managerial choices, employment and digital innovation)

Tatiana Mazali, Paolo Neirotti, Giuseppe Scellato

Marsilio, 2023