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AbstractThis article describes how the business process re‐engineering (BPR) concepts, knowledge base and software tools developed as part of the MIT Process Handbook can be extended and improved through the use of a systematic taxonomization of business process metrics. After introducing the key concepts underlying the Handbook, we propose a taxonomy of cost, dimension and value‐related process metrics and show how the capture of such measures, combined with a set of special query types, enables more effective BPR. These innovations are illustrated using an example wherein the manager of a travel agency redesigns a booking process to reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The pervasiveness of scientific developments has raised the role of entrepreneurship as a driver of socio-economic value. Higher education institutions are thus asked to create entrepreneurial mindset and competencies with the purpose to make students people able to proactively identify opportunities and transform them in market solutions. In particular, engineering education programs can be of relevance to develop technology entrepreneurship competencies through hands-on and experiential approaches. In such vein, this paper proposes a model of entrepreneurship education as an "activation" process which uses four critical levers with the purpose to infuse the essence of entrepreneurship in tomorrow's engineering professionals. The application of the model is exemplified through the analysis of a research training program grounded in the aerospace domain. The key features of the initiative are discussed in the perspective of exploring new models of entrepreneurial engineering education.

AbstractIn the current complex and uncertain scenarios, organizations are increasingly subjected to hazardous events and threats, which can be critical for their business operations and performance. In these settings, organizations are likely to experience high‐cost impact if they are unprepared when a crisis strikes. This is more challenging for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that, due to their limited organizational and financial resources, are called to be resilient providing an effective response to such threats to safeguard the interests of key stakeholders and protect their reputation and brand. Business continuity management (BCM) is commonly known as one of the most effective processes used by organizations to cope with emergencies to continue or resume business operations, thus contributing to strengthen the organizational resilience (OR). Based on a critical literature review, this study provides an overview of BCM by highlighting the main implementation requirements, challenges, and contribution to enhance the OR. It also proposes a conceptual framework that shows how BCM is functional to and strongly connected with OR, especially for SMEs. Finally, implications for scholars, practitioners, and policy‐makers are provided to recall the main research evidence and inspire future investigations.

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has stimulated a global movement of open innovation initiatives aimed to provide knowledge and tools to support policy decisions and actions in the emergency scenario. The authors describe an open innovation process aimed to build an information coordination system to reduce the infection diffusion within the population.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use coordination theory principles to elaborate a framework of activities, resources and dependencies among information resources and producers in the COVID-19 emergency. The framework was applied to develop a case study aimed at describing a health emergency system implemented by Dyrecta Lab (a research laboratory on computer science) and CITEL (a medical research center).FindingsThe authors describe the existence of relevant "flow," "fit" and "share" dependencies within the activities of infection containment and medical treatment. The authors identify eight key resources and a number of actors involved in those activities, and describe a platform able to gather a multitude of epidemic-related metrics with the purpose to address dependencies and support decision making.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors provide insights for advancing the academic discussion on process coordination principles in time-constrained, volatile and highly demanding scenarios.Practical implicationsThe value of the authors' research can be identified for practitioners engaged to develop innovative development projects for public utility. The authors provide a contribution also for first responders and health operators involved in management of the current and future emergencies.Originality/valueThe adoption of process coordination principles is a relatively new and powerful approach to analyze and optimize the processes that characterize the management of emergency scenarios. Besides, the study and application of open innovation in healthcare are partially limited.

Although exponential technologies promise to bring unprecedented value at the socio-economic and policy levels, the social acceptability and preparedness for the technological "singularity" should be carefully considered. In particular, whereas digital innovation is able to drive an extraordinary development of entrepreneurial ventures, a number of challenging issues and the ongoing pandemic crisis have increased the need to investigate how technological breakthrough and human capital can be effectively combined in order to build resilient socio-technical and entrepreneurial ecosystems. This paper offers a synopsis of the major investigation areas and a reflection on the themes associated with the emergence of a digital society and the affirmation of digital entrepreneurship ecosystems. The research process follows a systematic literature review and a conceptual development approach aimed to introduce both the concept and a model of the digital society "incubator". The proposed model identifies the actors, values, flows, and processes that are required to support the construction of a resilient entrepreneurial ecosystem. In this perspective, the study proposes a new focus by hybridizing and integrating both entrepreneurial and technology-related dimensions into a single unifying model. The study also lays the groundwork for further studies aimed at identifying the environmental and institutional factors required to support a smooth and effective transition towards a resilient entrepreneurial and technology-driven society.

PurposeThe generation of new ventures within established companies, also known as corporate entrepreneurship (CE), is a process influenced by a set of individual and organizational factors. This paper aims to focus on creativity and human resource management enablers of CE, with the purpose to define an integrative framework and draw a set of related research propositions.Design/methodology/approachThe paper relies on a multidisciplinary literature review in the fields of CE, creativity and organizational innovation.FindingsThe effectiveness of CE depends on a set of individual factors, distinguished into professional and psychological characteristics, and organizational factors, which include the system of values of the organization and the management practices applied in the same.Research limitations/implicationsFrom a theoretical point of view, the paper develops an integrative framework of conditions that impact on CE and outlines a set of propositions and alternative research methods to test.Practical/implicationsFrom a practitioner perspective, the study provides managers with a comprehensive set of factors enabling CE by leveraging the creativity of individuals and make it flourish through consistent human resource management practices.Originality/valueThe value of the paper stays in the integration of individual-related and organizational-related determinants of entrepreneurial performance.

PurposeThis paper aims to discuss the role of intangible assets in higher education and research institutions and to present a measurement framework, along with an illustrative application.Design/methodology/approachA review of existing theories and practical experiences is undertaken to build the core conceptual model and a dashboard of indicators. The model is then applied to investigate the mission and performance angles of intellectual capital with reference to an Italian higher education and research institution.FindingsCreating intangible assets is at the core of the mission of education and research organizations. The identification and measurement of intellectual capital are thus an operational priority to evaluate the alignment between strategic orientation and performance within such institutions.Research limitations/implicationsThe research has to be considered as exploratory and presents a single case, resulting in the need for further applications. However, the dashboard of metrics proposed is comprehensive and can thus represent a useful ground for refinements, mostly related to the links between indicators and management/strategy issues.Practical implicationsThe dashboard can be used as a stakeholder communication tool and atableau de bordto support the strategic decisions related to the human, social and structural capital of education and research organizations.Originality/valueThe paper presents a first discussion on the systematic identification, classification and reporting of intellectual capital indicators in higher education and research.