RISULTATI RICERCA

l lavoro analizza l'evoluzione delle reti criminali, evidenziando il passaggio da strutture gerarchiche come precedentemente concepite a piattaforme tecnologiche e relazionali complesse. Le High-Risk Criminal Networks (HRCNs) non sono più semplici "bande", ma infrastrutture che operano come imprese di servizi, superando il modello organizzativo piramidale, acquisendo competenze specifiche, e infiltrando l’economia legale. L'AI non è solo un "tool", ma un acceleratore strategico che cambia il DNA del crimine, consentendo a soggetti con scarse competenze di gestire truffe complesse, automatizzando il phishing, i deepfakes, la clonazione di voci per frodi e favorendo il disimpegno emotivo. Gli attori di queste reti vanno valutati in relazione alla loro posizione funzionale. Gli HRCNs possono essere proxy per entità destabilizzanti tramite minacce ibride e l’uso delle reti come moltiplicatori di disordine. Per affrontare l’attuale situazione occorre un approccio che integri: Network Analysis Digital Forensics e Criminologia Clinica. Questo quadro trasforma la lotta al crimine da una semplice attività repressiva a una sfida di governance tecnologica e cooperazione internazionale, come indicato dall'EU AI Act.

Il contributo esamina il diritto alla protezione dei dati personali in prospettiva sistematico-assiologica. Dopo un inquadramento dell’evoluzione storica dalla riservatezza alla protezione dei dati personali, l’analisi ricostruisce l’impianto essenziale del reg. UE 2016/679, con riguardo ai princípi, alla nozione di dato personale, alle categorie particolari, alle basi giuridiche del trattamento e ai diritti dell’interessato. La trattazione si sofferma, quindi, sulla dimensione economica del dato personale, sulla sua rilevanza nei rapporti contrattuali e sulla funzione assunta nei mercati digitali. Posta una lettura coordinata del più recente quadro regolatorio europeo, emerge una ricostruzione che, evitando tanto la patrimonializzazione piena quanto la riduzione del dato a mero oggetto di tutela negativa, valorizza dignità della persona e autodeterminazione informativa come parametri irriducibili anche nell’economia digitale.

L’articolo analizza l’intersezione tra appalti pubblici, diritto penale e procedura penale, evidenziando come il settore dei contratti pubblici rappresenti un’area ad alta esposizione a fenomeni corruttivi, collusivi e di alterazione della concorrenza. L’indagine si concentra sulle principali fattispecie incriminatrici rilevanti, tra cui corruzione, turbativa d’asta, turbata libertà del procedimento di scelta del contraente, traffico di influenze illecite e responsabilità degli enti ex DLGS 231/2001. Particolare attenzione è dedicata ai profili probatori, alle misure cautelari personali e reali, al sequestro, alla confisca e al rapporto tra processo penale, procedimento amministrativo e responsabilità contabile. Il contributo valorizza altresì il ruolo della compliance, dei modelli organizzativi, del whistleblowing, dei controlli ANAC e degli strumenti europei di cooperazione, concludendo sulla necessità di un sistema capace di coniugare effettività repressiva, prevenzione del rischio e garanzie processuali.

Il presente contributo ha ad oggetto le società benefit (una qualifica e non un tipo a sé stante), introdotte nel nostro ordinamento ispirandosi alle benefit corporations statunitensi. Nello specifico, si affronta qui il problema del recesso: ossia, se un socio contrario all’assunzione della qualifica benefit abbia diritto o meno di recedere dalla società. Sul punto, la normativa benefit italiana è silente. Partendo da un inquadramento delle società benefit, si sostiene che esse si caratterizzino per un’ibridazione, quantomeno parziale, dello scopo; in proposito, mantenendosi il più aderente possibile alla lettera della legge nonché alla sua ratio legis, si propone una “terza via” interpretativa, rispetto a quanto sostenuto sinora in dottrina. Quest’inquadramento costituisce la premessa necessaria per affrontare poi nel merito il problema del recesso. Dopo un breve allargamento della prospettiva in chiave comparatistica – guardando oltralpe e oltreoceano, dove si sono posti problemi interpretativi simili – si elabora una possibile soluzione. Utilizzando a tal fine un’ampia gamma di argomenti, inclusi dei riferimenti a norme settoriali e prestando particolare attenzione alla prassi, si argomenta che il diritto di recedere sussista solo in presenza di determinate condizioni. In particolare, esso sarebbe esercitabile solo laddove l’adozione della qualifica benefit sia accompagnata da un’ulteriore clausola statutaria che preveda la prevalenza del beneficio comune sul lucro. Soltanto in questo caso si avrebbe infatti un effettivo e significativo cambiamento della “vita sociale”, tale da giustificare il recesso.

L’Autore analizza il partenariato pubblico-privato (PPP) alla luce del DLGS 36/2023, evidenziandone l’evoluzione da tecnica contrattuale a modello di amministrazione economica orientata al risultato. Dopo aver ricostruito la nozione e i caratteri essenziali dell’istituto, il contributo esamina il ruolo dei principi del risultato, della fiducia e della sussidiarietà orizzontale nella ridefinizione dei rapporti tra amministrazione e mercato. Particolare attenzione è riservata all’allocazione del rischio operativo e all’equilibrio economico-finanziario quali elementi distintivi del PPP e presupposti della cooperazione tra pubblico e privato. Lo studio approfondisce inoltre la disciplina della finanza di progetto e gli effetti della recente giurisprudenza della Corte di giustizia dell’Unione europea in materia di prelazione del promotore. Si sostiene infine che il PPP rappresenti una delle principali espressioni del passaggio dall’amministrazione di procedimento all’amministrazione di risultato, configurandosi come paradigma di una nuova amministrazione economica fondata sulla collaborazione, sulla condivisione dei rischi e sulla creazione di valore pubblico.

Contemporary organizations increasingly confront multi-generational complexity that single-method designs struggle to capture, yet mixed methods studies remain more often juxtaposed than genuinely integrated, particularly in underdocumented African contexts. This article addresses that gap by documenting a reproducible explanatory sequential mixed methods protocol, in which a quantitative survey phase (137 participants across thirty companies in Madagascar) identified statistical patterns requiring explanation, which then guided a purposively sampled qualitative phase of interviews and focus groups, with triangulation matrices classifying each quantitative-qualitative pairing as convergent, complementary, or divergent. Divergent pairings revealed three behavioral paradoxes concerning loyalty, recognition, and autonomy. The study’s principal contribution is methodological rather than empirical: a documented, transferable procedure for converting statistical divergence into theoretically grounded meta-inferences that neither method could produce alone. This procedure in turn equips organizations and researchers with a replicable diagnostic for identifying generational misunderstandings that conventional single-method approaches would leave undetected.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in qualitative management research has so far been framed predominantly as assistance: a researcher interacting with generative AI during the design or analysis of a case study. Yet methodological discussions still offer limited understanding of how qualitatively different forms of AI involvement reconfigure the production of theoretical insight in case-based research. The existing differentiation remains stage-bound and tool-centred; what is missing is a systematic coupling of AI roles to forms of theorising and to specific validity threats. Drawing on a review of 139 documents, the authors develop a four-role conceptual framework, AI as Discoverer, Selector, Co-Constructor and Generator. Each role is examined through affordance theory, theorising from cases and sociomaterial perspectives in order to analyse how different forms of AI involvement influence theorising, interpretation and engagement with empirical material. The study’s contribution lies less in naming four roles than in coupling them to forms of theorising and to role-specific validity threats. AI involvement cannot be treated as a uniform methodological condition: different roles raise different implications for contextual understanding, methodological rigor, researcher oversight and the empirical status of research material. We advance six propositions linking each AI role to conditions of legitimacy, characteristic validity threats and disclosure requirements, and we illustrate the framework through a corporate-governance research scenario. The paper closes with role-sensitive guidance for authors, reviewers and editors of governance and R&D case research.

The Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector operates at the intersection of regulatory compliance and service- quality imperatives, yet management scholarship has only partially examined how individual providers reconcile these tensions through integrated organisational frameworks. Addressing this gap, the study asks asingle guiding question through what organisational mechanisms does a regulated training provider co-produce compliance and service quality over time? This article addresses that question through a qualitative single-case study of Australian Harbour International College (AHIC), a Registered Training Organisation in Sydney that has developed a coherent Service Quality Management Framework spanning curriculum design, multi-source feedback systems, trainer development, digital infrastructure, and stakeholder engagement. Adopting a theory-elaborating case design grounded in the methodological tradition of qualitative research, the study triangulates institutional documents, audit reports, performance indicators, and stakeholder feedback. The analysis identifies five interlocking pillars through which the institution co-produces compliance and quality. Triangulated evidence shows measurable improvements in completion rates, learner and employer satisfaction, audit performance, and staff retention. The article reframes the compliance – quality dichotomy as a productive duality rather than a trade-off that is, as two organisational logics that, when structurally and culturally integrated, become mutually reinforcing rather than competing, in the manner theorised by the literature on organisational ambidexterity; refines the service-quality literature by foregrounding stakeholder feedback as a continuous-improvement governance device; and extends qualitative theorising on case-based inquiry by demonstrating how an embedded single-case design can illuminate context-sensitive organisational processes.

Digital transformation is profoundly reshaping professional service firms, affecting the nature of professional work, the role of technology, and the mechanisms through which value is created. Although the literature has extensively examined the effects of digitalisation on professional activities and organisational models, the role of professional training in the governance of these transformations remains relatively underexplored. This study addresses this gap by conceptualising training not merely as an individual investment in human capital, but as an organisational mechanism that influences professional judgement and the strategic adaptability of organisations. Drawing on a qualitative, theory-driven comparative multiple-case study of 30 Italian accounting firms undergoing digital transformation and based on semi-structured interviews, the study highlights the existence of a systematic trade-off between shortterm efficiency and medium- to long-term adaptability. The findings show that training pathways primarily focused on procedural knowledge foster rapid initial productivity but tend to reinforce technological dependence and limit the ability to address non-standard situations. By contrast, the integration of theoretical and conceptual content in training supports the development of professional judgement, mitigates automation bias, and contributes to the evolution of the service model. The study contributes to the literature on professional service firms and digital transformation by showing how training can be interpreted as a mechanism of cognitive governance and, more specifically, as a driver of different knowledge structures shaping technological adaptation trajectories in knowledge-intensive organisations.

Industry 5.0 represents a transformative paradigm that addresses disruptive megatrends by calling for a human-centred approach and sustainability orientation. Despite growing academic interest, little is known about how organisations are transitioning towards this innovative strategical posture, particularly in the service businesses. The study addresses this gap by investigating the dynamic capabilities that waste management organisations must activate to undertake the aforemen-tioned transition. Drawing on the Dynamic Capabilities Theory and a qualitative multiple-case study conducted on three Italian waste management firms, data were collected through 18 semi-structured interviews and archival sources and analysed by using the Gioia methodology. The results reveal three aggregate dimensions of capability such as: Waste Ecosystem Scanning Capability; People-Technology Orchestration Capability; Smart Waste Cycle Reconfiguration Capability. All togeth-er, these capabilities constitute an integrated architecture through which organisations perceive environmental complexity, orchestrate technological and human re-sources, and reconfigure their strategic, operational, and relational processes.

This paper investigates the interaction between radical innovation and sustainable finance in the FoodTech sector, a context characterized not only by high capital intensity and delayed returns, but also by challenges related to consumer acceptance, regulatory requirements, and scalability. Through the longitudinal qualitative case study of Futura S.r.l., an innovative startup located in Southern Italy, the research examines how sustainable ventures navigate financial constraints within a peripheral entrepreneurial ecosystem. Drawing on the triangulation of documentary and operational sources, the study reconstructs the firm’s evolution. The findings reveal that startup growth is enabled by a hybrid financing architecture combining public grants, bank debt, private equity, and ecosystem partnerships. Moreover, the analysis shows that sustainability supports scalability through both signaling and substantive mechanisms. Indeed, transparent ESG metrics enhance legitimacy and reduce information asymmetries, while sustainability-oriented investments generate measurable capabilities that facilitate access to finance and strategic collaborations.
The study contributes to the literature on sustainable entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial finance by explaining how hybrid funding strategies support innovation in FoodTech ventures. Finally, it offers managerial implications for resource orchestration and network building, as well as policy implications regarding the role of public support in fostering sustainable entrepreneurship.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a shift in tourism toward undertourism destinations, where travelers seek authentic experiences and deeper engagement with local resources and landscapes. Within this context, the present study examines how collaborative networks involving public and private actors can leverage undertourism as a strategic opportunity for destination repositioning. Focusing on the Marche Region (Italy), the research adopts a qualitative case study approach based on semi-structured interviews with key informants. Qualitative analysis and coding of the interview data revealed five types of networks that underpin the strategic and operational architecture of the region’s tourism and cultural sector: public-private, intra-sectoral, inter-sectoral, cross-territorial, and industry-community networks. The findings indicate that sustainable competitiveness depends on integrating diffuse territorial assets through multi-level governance, addressing infrastructural gaps, and enhancing community wellbeing. They further suggest that successful destination repositioning requires a shift from traditional competition to “coopetition”,The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a shift in tourism toward undertourism destinations, where travelers seek authentic experiences and deeper engagement with local resources and landscapes. Within this context, the present study examines how collaborative networks involving public and private actors can leverage undertourism as a strategic opportunity for destination repositioning. Focusing on the Marche Region (Italy), the research adopts a qualitative case study approach based on semi-structured interviews with key informants. Qualitative analysis and coding of the interview data revealed five types of networks that underpin the strategic and operational architecture of the region’s tourism and cultural sector: public-private, intra-sectoral, inter-sectoral, cross-territorial, and industry-community networks. The findings indicate that sustainable competitiveness depends on integrating diffuse territorial assets through multi-level governance, addressing infrastructural gaps, and enhancing community wellbeing. They further suggest that successful destination repositioning requires a shift from traditional competition to “coopetition”,together with the need for new professional roles capable of orchestrating development processes and managing fragmented resources.