Family-led enterprises analysed according to how much resilience they possess

Resilience, or, the ability to withstand, be flexible and bounce back. A crucial skill in production organisations, too, and one that, in family-led enterprises – well known for their unique production organisation nature – seems to be particularly developed. This is why understanding the core foundation of these enterprises is important, which is the goal of the research study undertaken by Damiano Petrolo, Chiara Morelli and Lucrezia Soncini, researchers at the University of Eastern Piedmont, recently published in Impresa Progetto. Electronic Journal of Management.

The stated aim of the study is to explore and deepen the knowledge and understanding of a topic that has received little attention so far: that of organisational resilience in family-led enterprises.

More in detail, the authors explain, the paper investigates the sources of organisational resilience and therefore, ultimately, the reasons why family-led enterprises show greater resilience than all other ones.

Petrolo, Morelli and Soncini’s study begins by framing the topic and providing an overview of the relevant literature, before exploring the resilience/family-led enterprises dyad; it then examines the case of such three Italian organisations. For each company, the authors take into consideration the role of technology, that of external stakeholders and the values of the owners, whose entrepreneurial characteristics are analysed.

The outcomes, in qualitative and quantitative terms, reveal that, as explained, “three main kinds of factors play a crucial role in the development of family-led enterprises’ organisational resilience: the owners’ values and entrepreneurial features, the relationships with external and local stakeholders and the organisational resources (technology, management mechanisms and managerial competence).”

Petrolo, Morelli and Soncini’s study does not claim to offer a comprehensive picture of organisational resilience in family-led enterprises, but does provide good food for thought and a starting point for further and more detailed research on this topic.

Le fonti della resilienza organizzativa nelle imprese familiari: uno studio esplorativo (“Sources of organisational resilience in family-led enterprises: an exploratory study”)

Damiano Petrolo, Chiara Morelli, Lucrezia Songini

Impresa Progetto. Electronic Journal of Management, 3/2022

A recently published book analyses leadership and provides tips on how to achieve it

“Leadership is a collective, collaborative and altruistic process. It is a widespread phenomenon entailing several leaders, not just one boss, within a workplace”. This is the notion that leads to success in most different spheres, including the corporate one. leadership, which is not about a single person in charge, but something more complex and intense. as well as intriguing. And is leadership, in its many shapes, that Gianluca Giansante discusses in his recently published Leadership. Teorie, tecniche, buone pratiche e falsi miti (Leadership. Theories, techniques, good practice and misconceptions).

The book’s underlying concept is as described above: true leadership is a collective activity. Starting with this assumption, Giansante embarks on a path based upon various sources of information and composed of various stages, which ends up constituting a kind of “leadership guidebook” aimed at people whose role is to run a company. a guidebook that also provides concrete advice on how to behave and what to avoid. Thus, readers learn about the key features that make a leader, how leaders conceive what they do and why, the importance of sharing and emotions, cooperation and agreement, reasons for acting and the relationship between leaders and power, as well as the risks that a leader might face. All explained in a clear language and through answers and questions that may seem obvious but are far from being so. as well as through the narration of experiences by Gandhi, Malala Yousafzai, Marco Aurelio, Winston Churchill and many others.

In his conclusions, Giansante writes: “Leaders are not on their own, they belong to a group and their main duty is not to boss people around but to motivate them towards collaboration as a shared objective.”

Leadership. Teorie, tecniche, buone pratiche e falsi miti (Leadership. Theories, techniques, good practice and misconceptions)

Gianluca Giansante

Carocci editore, 2023

About Cities is a well-executed magazine edited by Fabio Brioschi and published by EuroMilano Servizi, and for quite some time now it’s been focusing its attention on narrating urban and metropolitan change, in the belief that efforts driving innovation, change and an improvement in work and life conditions tend to concentrate in cities. The new issue is entitled “Sempre in movimento. Per parlare delle città e ascoltarne la voce” (“Always on the move. To talk about cities and listen to their voices”) and centres on theoretical analyses and first-hand experiences concerning mobility, quality of life, and the conflicts and contradictions that citizens encounter in their daily lives (something that’s also echoed in the other publications related to the magazine, such as the original anthology Elementi di urbanistica noir – Elements of noir urban planning – curated by Gianni Biondillo, architect by education and profession but also brilliant noir author, whose books depict the gloomy criminal nature lurking behind the “thousand lights” of wealthy, glamorous and fashionable Milan).

Here’s the crux of the matter: cities are brimming with potential for development, including sustainable development, but, at the same time, they’re also marked by a significant economic and social fragility leading to serious reflections on politics and culture.

An attentive read of ISTAT’s Focus report entitled “Profili delle città metropolitane” (“Outlines of metropolitan cities”) helps gaining a better understanding of all this – published at the beginning of February, the report adopts the same two terms we mentioned above, “potential” and “frailty”, to frame the interpretative analysis of such phenomena.

Indeed, Focus scrutinises more thoroughly the data relating to the 14 metropolitan cities founded in accordance with the indications outlined in the reformed Title Five of the Italian Constitution and Law no. 56 of 7 April 2014 – that is, Turin, Milan, Venice, Genoa, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Bari, Reggio Calabria, Palermo, Messina, Catania and Cagliari (though critics find it’s too many, as only four of these cities count more than two million inhabitants: Rome, with over four million; Milan, with over three million; then Naples, with almost three, and Turin).

Let’s look at some highs and lows: Turin is the most extensive (6,827 square km), Genoa is the “oldest” (269 elderly people for every 100 young people) and Naples is the youngest (130 elderly people for every 100 young people). Bologna is the most cultured (42 graduates for every 100 residents) and counts the highest number of working women (51 women for every 100); Milan features the highest income per inhabitant (€23,202) and the highest entrepreneurial density (106 local units for every 1,000 inhabitants, for a total of 346,000 enterprises), as well as the highest labour productivity (added value per employee, equal to €71,200). Catania has the lowest income per inhabitant (€9,844), Messina shows the lowest production rate (€29,200) and Palermo the lowest employment rate (49% for people aged between 25 and 64).while Rome is the city that, over the past 20 years, has experienced the highest population growth, with an increase of 14%.

A careful analysis of the ISTAT data also reveals some underlying trends: over 21 million people live in metropolitan areas, while the majority of the Italian people prefer medium-sized cities, towns and villages, thus shaping a territory marked by highly widespread urbanisation and whose productive structure extends to smaller towns, or, to “the shadow of bell towers”, as renowned economic historian Carlo Maria Cipolla used to say. A peculiar structure, which allows the economy to be flexible, creative, productive and competitive, promoting the prevalence of a culture founded on the notion of “beautiful and well-made” manufacturing.

The North of Italy, as a whole, is more economically dynamic, and that’s where the greatest opportunities for change are concentrated. However, it’s also the region with the most ageing population: a situation that, looking ahead, prompts some serious political and economic questions, including those relating to the continued upkeep of welfare sustainability.

With regards to the demographic drop currently affecting the country, its impact on metropolitan areas is lower (-1.5% in 2030, as opposed to the -1.8% average for Italy), though it’s very unevenly distributed: Bologna (+2.9%) and Milan (+2.5%, with as much as +7% in the capital) will continue to grow, Rome will lose only 0.1% of the population, while Naples will drop by 2.8% and Messina by as much as 6%.

Employment, businesses and education attract young and dynamic people, although, according to other surveys and journalistic research, the appeal of Milan, for instance, is affected by increasingly relevant issues concerning services, the provision of affordable housing (“Housing, Milan loses the middle class”, was the headline of Corriere della Sera of 20 February; “Living in Milan, a nightmare that would stagger Orwell ”, stresses L’Espresso of 29 January), the cost of life and tangible opportunities for integration – fragility, as we mentioned, also within a context of positive change and development.

The ISTAT study focuses on statistical analysis and as such doesn’t include more precise observations, yet this data, portraying prospects of growth and unresolved social issues, also illustrates that what needs to be addressed by the Italian government, as well as by regional and municipal authorities, are opportunities for sustainable, environmental and social development.

If current trends driven by the knowledge economy identify cities and metropolitan areas as the sites for prospective and productive involvement in economic and social transformation, then that’s precisely where we need to act in order to instigate a “paradigm shift” in economic values, in order to attain a circular, civic, fairer and more balanced economy. Discussions “about cities”, basically, equate to discussions about quality of life, production, employment, consumption, civil coexistence, new and improved communities, collaborative and “competitive” attitudes. Always bearing in mind that the term ‘competitiveness’ derives from cum and petere – to pursue the right future, together.

(photo Getty Images)

For the seventh consecutive year, the Pirelli Foundation is back at MuseoCity, which is promoted by the City of Milan. From 3 to 5 March 2023 the event will involve the city’s institutions and museums as well as some organisations from outside the city. Pirelli will be there with two events to be held on 3 March 2023, one of which is designed for young people.

Designing Light: Pirelli and the Architecture of the Workplace

4 p.m. and 7 p.m. (two tours – lasts about 60 minutes)

A guided tour of Pirelli’s most distinctive buildings of yesterday and today. Using contemporary and historical archival documents preserved by the Foundation, visitors will explore the company’s ultra-modern canteen designed by Giulio Minoletti in the 1950s, and the Pirelli Tower by Gio Ponti, a masterpiece of Milanese architecture. They will also see the Bicocca headquarters designed by Vittorio Gregotti, which incorporates the former cooling tower of the factory, the “beautiful factory” in Settimo Torinese designed by Renzo Piano, and the renovated premises of the Pirelli factory in Bollate.

To register, please fill in the form at this link. Booking is required for the event and is subject to availability. Registration ends on Wednesday 1 March 2023.

Light at Pirelli: Make Your Own Magic Box

Workshop for children aged 8-11

5.30 p.m. (lasts about 90 minutes)

What do a cooling tower, a towering skyscraper and a factory surrounded by colourful cherry trees all have in common? What makes these places so beautiful and welcoming is the powerful presence of light that floods them. After visiting the Pirelli Foundation, the children will take part in a workshop, where they will be able to create a “magic box” that is activated by light and that will project their drawings. They will also be able to visit the Pirelli Historical Archive.

To register, please fill in the form at this link. Booking is required for the event and is subject to availability. Registration ends on Wednesday 1 March 2023.

Visitors’ entrance: Pirelli Foundation, Viale Sarca 220, Milan

For more information please write to visite@fondazionepirelli.org.

The training and refresher course for secondary school teachers is back. The 11th edition of Cinema & History, promoted by the Pirelli Foundation and the Fondazione ISEC, in collaboration with Cinema Beltrade, is devoted to the theme of travel. Always on the borderline between metaphor and reality, travel is replete with historical implications: from the Grand Tour to low-cost flights, from the exploration of Africa that accompanied the building of colonial empires to the great migratory flows across the centuries, through to the study tours of entrepreneurs.

And travel is not just about people, for also things and ideas move and interact, in an increasingly interconnected and globalised world.

The course is designed as a journey in five stages, linking history and cinema, and providing teachers with the tools they need to turn a theme that is often trivialised into an authentic experience, with a wealth of new stimuli and perspectives that will come out in the classroom activities.

To achieve this, the five historical sessions will be accompanied by a selection of films curated by the Cinema Beltrade. Finally, a workshop entitled “Travelling with Pygmalion – The Power of Moving Images” will help teachers use the films for educational purposes.

Registration for the course is free of charge but required. Please write to didattica2@fondazioneisec.it by Monday 13 February 2023. The meetings will be held live on the Microsoft Teams platform (we recommend you connect a few minutes early for technical tests if required).

Places on the course are limited and registrations will be accepted in order of receipt.

For the general programme of the course, please click here.

Join us on 20 February at 4 p.m.!

We look forward to seeing you.

The theatre training project organised by the Associazione Pier Lombardo in collaboration with the Pirelli Foundation gets into full swing

The theatre training project L’UMANA IMPRESA. La fabbrica degli attori (“HUMAN ENTERPRISE: The Actor Factory”), organised by the Associazione Pier Lombardo in collaboration with the Pirelli Foundation, was launched in December 2022. The investigation, in theatrical form, will take its cue from a reflection on some concepts that are shared by both corporate culture and artistic activity: vision, identity, transformation, and research, as well as the human ability to create artefacts and stories, and material and immaterial products, while also touching on the question of the relationship between man and machine.

Based on their memories and experiences at the Pirelli Historical Archive, six young twenty-somethings – chosen from among the new graduates from the drama academies of Milan – will have the task of telling the story of how companies that have their roots in a vision, and in an idea of a society that we dream about, can become the driving forces of change. With the communicative power and immediacy of theatre and with the use of dialogues, monologues, choral scenes and videos, the young actors will talk about science, research, production techniques, and creative relationships between people. And they will touch on topics such as sustainability, the economy, the fight against inequality, and protection of the environment. At the same time, they will improve their skills as creators of stories – immaterial products that have always been used to give meaning to everything around us, to life experiences, and to what still awaits us in the future.

The project consists of three stages: the first, which ended in December, was devoted to planning and to the selection of the actors. The second stage is focusing on training and research, with four weeks of intensive work at the Teatro Franco Parenti under the guidance of the director Stefano de Luca. This will examine the techniques of scenic art and create investigative drama situations based on the value of work and on that of industrial, commercial and artistic enterprises. Visits to the Historical Archive, which is now preserved at the Pirelli Foundation, and the visit to the Pirelli Research and Development laboratories will be invaluable, giving a far better understanding of certain issues and aspects of corporate culture.

The third and final stage of the project will be the show itself. There will be two events: on Tuesday 28 March 2023, there will be an interactive show for students from upper secondary schools and universities who will be involved and encouraged by the company to express themselves on the themes in hand, bringing in new ideas and insights. The second event, which is open to the general public, will be held in the evening of Monday 3 April 2023. It will be an opportunity to share the social value of the theatre.

Show:

L’UMANA IMPRESA
LA FABBRICA DEGLI ATTORI
Directed by Stefano de Luca
With
Tobia Dal Corso Polzot, Elia Galeotti, Lorenzo Giovannetti,
Claudia Grassi, Edoardo Rivoira, and Emilia Tiburzi

Information and reservations

For those wishing to take part in the show on 3 April, all the latest information will soon be available on the Teatro Franco Parenti website www.teatrofrancoparenti.it

We look forward to seeing you!

(Photo: Ilaria Maggioni and Andrea Salafia)

A study published by the Bank of Italy shows how effective the collaboration between production and research organisations can be

Collaborating in order to grow better, discovering new products and new markets – a state of affairs that also concerns the relationships between the business and the academic worlds and a significant indicator, too, of corporate and production cultures that are above average and different than the norm.

It is, however, important to properly understand the relationships, bonds and outcomes resulting from combining production and research, and amongst the many studies devoted to this topic, the one conducted by Daniela Bragoli, Flavia Cortelezzi and Massimiliano Rigon, published as part of the Temi di discussione (Discussion topics) series by the Bank of Italy, provides the perfect opportunity to do so.

“Innovazione delle imprese e cooperazione con le università. Nuove evidenze da un’indagine sulle imprese italiane” (“Innovative enterprises and collaborations with universities. New evidence from a study of Italian companies”) aims to analyse the impact that collaborating with universities has on the innovative spirit of Italian enterprises, distinguishing between purely technological, organisational or joint (both technological and organisational) innovations. Despite the fact that the study incorporates data gathered in 2007 and 2010 by the Bank of Italy’s Indagine sulle imprese industriali e dei servizi (Survey on industrial and service companies), or ‘Invind’, the outcomes reached are nonetheless significant for the understanding of the inner workings of relationships between production and research. After summarising the existing literature and analysing all the available data, the authors reach a number of final considerations. First of all, that collaborating with universities urges companies to adopt both technological and organisational innovations, which the literature generally sees as the most efficient factors when assessed in terms of market results, while companies that do not collaborate with universities tend to introduce new features that are purely technological. However, both technological and organisational factors are essential to succeed in the creation of virtuous and solid expansion paths, especially in times as complex as these.

Innovazione delle imprese e cooperazione con le università. Nuove evidenze da un’indagine sulle imprese italiane (“Innovative enterprises and collaborations with universities. New evidence from a study of Italian companies”)

Daniela Bragoli, Flavia Cortelezzi and Massimiliano Rigon

Bank of Italy, Temi di discussione, February 2023

Young Italian people are not familiar with the industry sector and, in any case, don’t see it as a likeable workplace. This fact – a rather unsettling one, considering that Italy is the second manufacturing country in Europe, following Germany – came to light through a survey promoted by Federmeccanica (the Italian Federation of Metalworking Industries) via the project “Monitor sul lavoro” (“Focus on work”) led by Daniele Marini, distinguished occupational sociologist, in collaboration with Community Media Research & Analysis. Out of the 1,200 respondents (a representative sample of the over-18 Italian population), when asked to choose a term to describe “industry” the majority replied “I don’t know” (218 answers, 18.2%) – no opinion whatsoever. In second place came “obsolete” (61 answers) and in third “productive” (56 answers), followed by “exploitation” (38 answers). According to Marini: “The narrative embodying what manufacturing is in today’s Italy is no longer part of how young people see the world”. “Industry? No idea”, summarises Dario Di Vico, who analysed the data in the Corriere della Sera (20 February).

Where did those other findings come from then? A great number of respondents (45.4%) said they had reached a conclusion through their own direct working experience or through conversations with colleagues, though 54% simply relied on information acquired, firstly, from traditional media (TV, newspapers and radio for 20%), and secondly from social media and the internet (especially the younger generations) as well as “talking with family and friends”.

However, even in such a landscape clouded by little knowledge about the real importance of finance and business, a more reassuring attitude can be glimpsed, as a majority of the respondents (55.2%) would like to see greater support for enterprises, “as they contribute to the development of the country and of people”. A rather striking view that seems to contrast with the several “I don’t know” mentioned above, and that’s even more widespread amongst graduates (63.8%), students (67.8%) and those who have a manual job (56.4%) – a segment of the population that needs nurturing and whose ideas must be fostered.

The survey further includes interesting notions about the value of quality work, the importance of establishing a work-life balance and a “good corporate reputation”, an inclination to change job depending on salary and professional satisfaction, and the notion that “influencers and bloggers are more important than artisans, traders and teachers”.

A world in evolution, then, especially after the social rifts and individual fragilities exposed by the Covid pandemic; a world that nonetheless continues to deserve our greatest attention, taking especially more into consideration the younger generations’ inclinations.

Then again, learning that the industry is not too popular in the eyes of society doesn’t really come as a surprise: a 2009 survey by Ipsos on the new generations and manufacturing – launched in occasion of the publication of the book Orgoglio industriale (Industrial pride), published by Mondadori – showed the same results, and indeed one answer summarised the overall results, “I’d rather say that I work in a call centre or a trendy boutique rather than in a factory”. The following year, another and rather similar survey by Ipsos for entrepreneurial institution Assolombarda, confirmed that same negative outlook, later overturned by the effects that followed the 2009-2011 Great Financial Crisis, which led to a reassessment of the real economy.

The survey by Federmeccanica, launched just at a time when we can appreciate how much the manufacturing industry has been driving Italy’s astonishing economic growth in 2021-2022, is forcing not only the corporate world but also political and social actors to take a good look at what workers think and young people expect, in order to secure the fundamental assets of sustainable development.

Essentially, we need to persevere towards a new entrepreneurial narrative consolidating corporate culture and industrial representation. And we could begin by building a closer relationship between industry and education, just as the Aspen Institute Italia has been doing for years, for instance, through the initiative “Una bella impresa” (“A great undertaking”), which is founded on meetings between entrepreneurs and high school students throughout Italy. But we also need to reassess salaries, wages and professional conditions, and more strongly emphasise initiative, innovation, scientific research, the environmental and digital twin transition as an opportunity to better work and life conditions, as positive values while also focusing on the concept of productive and sustainable “beautiful factories” as possible future sites for individual, social and cultural growth – a challenge that high-quality Italian industry is actually very well equipped to take on.

(photo Getty Images)

A recently published book narrates the history of the Italian aviation industry

Cutting-edge technology and great entrepreneurial skills, a yearning for the future and the struggle to see beyond the horizon – this is what the Italian aviation industry is made of. It is an instance of production culture within a complex segment, often driven by historical events and international relations, not to mention wars. The past and future – as well as the present – of the Italian aviation industry is what Francesca Fauri narrates in her recently published work Storia dell’industria aeronautica italiana. Dai primi velivoli a oggi (History of the Italian aviation industry. From the first aircrafts to today).

In her work, Fauri seems to focus on two main conditions: precociousness and discontinuity. This is because, as the author explains, the story of this industrial segment had precocious beginnings and a discontinuous evolution, influenced by national and international events. Thus, the First World War was an opportunity for development and emancipation from foreign dependence, and the period between the two wars provided a further occasion for growth, up to the end of the Second World War, when almost all plants had been destroyed. All this, however, impeded by the Peace Treaty imposing a prohibition on the manufacturing of aircrafts, a preference for the import of allied planes, and the refusal of international aid. Political costs that became financial burdens, which the Italian aviation industry painstakingly and bravely alleviated during the long post-war period, up to the founding of Finmeccanica and then the Leonardo multinational aerospace companies.

Yet, this book by Fauri (who teaches Economic History and History of the World Economy and Migration at the Bologna University), is to be read not only for its factual narration but, above all, for its description of the people: pioneering and visionary entrepreneurs (the story of Gianni Caproni and is group is told in its entirety), who truly left their mark on industrial history and on their own segment. Examples of ingenuity and calculated risks that are relevant to all. Hence, reading Francesca Fauri’s work is an excellent way to explore a particular kind of corporate culture that is still too little known.

Storia dell’industria aeronautica italiana. Dai primi velivoli a oggi (History of the Italian aviation industry. From the first aircrafts to today)

Francesca Fauri

Il Mulino, 2023

A book encapsulates the general principles of AI and its potential application in supply chains

Artificial Intelligence as a tool to work better – an assumption that, nowadays, is rather commonplace, and yet needs to be understood and analysed in terms of individual corporate contexts. This is what Raffaele Secchi achieves with the work he curated, Supply Chain management e intelligenza artificiale (Supply chain management and artificial intelligence), a book written in collaboration whose aim is immediately unpacked by its subheading: Migliorare i processi e la competitività aziendale (Improving corporate processes and competitiveness) – according to the authors, this is indeed the purpose of Artificial Intelligence.

In the opinion of Secchi and his collaborators, when applied to the management of operations and supply chains, Artificial Intelligence represents an extraordinary opportunity to enhance companies’ competitiveness. In fact, it can significantly affect costs, the productivity of operators and plants, the quality of processes and products, stock management and its depletion, and service levels.

So far, so good. But Secchi and colleagues demonstrate that even here one needs to know how to properly manage the situation, and that not everything can be taken for granted. Projects aimed at integrating AI in the industrial sphere, the authors emphasise, feature extremely high levels of complexity, and good preparation is crucial to be able to tackle and handle the transition from traditional to algorithm-led management.

Thus, the book starts by tracing the evolution of Artificial Intelligence, before moving on to explore in depth its specific applications in this area and, finally, offers a number of concrete corporate case studies. Throughout the pages, the many graphs and tables are really useful in following a book that does not always make for easy reading.

This work ends with a kind of useful “recipe” for a true application of Artificial Intelligence in enterprises: a method that starts by considering the main barriers to the application of AI in production organisations and that succeeds in defining a number of stages through which they can be overcome.

Supply Chain management e intelligenza artificiale (Supply chain management and artificial intelligence)

Secchi Raffaele (curated by)

Guerini Next, 2022