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This chapter gives an overview of how the profession has been evolving in Italy and reports its milestones. After explaining the transformation of the national research ecosystem, which in the last decades undertook the transition from a direct state funding model towards a competitive base funding model, the chapter shows the fragmented landscape of associations in the profession and focuses on the features of the current research management and administration (RMA) community. The circumstances that led to the development of the national community are then described.

Finally, it gives some policy recommendations towards the acceleration of the professionalisation of research management in the country.

The European Union recommendations for patient safety calls for shared clinical risk management (CRM) safety standards able to guide organizations in CRM implementation. The purpose of this paper is to develop a self-evaluation tool to measure healthcare organization performance on CRM and guide improvements over time.

A multi-step approach was implemented including: a systematic literature review; consensus meetings with an expert panel from eight Italian leader organizations to get to an agreement on the first version; field testing to test instrument feasibility and flexibility; Delphi strategy with a second expert panel for content validation and balanced scoring system development.

The self-assessment tool – Clinical Assessment of Risk Management: an INtegrated Approach includes seven areas (governance, communication, knowledge and skills, safe environment, care processes, adverse event management, learning from experience) and 52 standards. Each standard is evaluated according to four performance levels: minimum; monitoring; outcomes; and improvement actions, which resulted in a feasible, flexible and valid instrument to be used throughout different organizations.

This tool allows practitioners to assess their CRM activities compared to minimum levels, monitor performance, benchmarking with other institutions and spreading results to different stakeholders.

The multi-step approach allowed us to identify core minimum CRM levels in a field where no consensus has been reached. Most standards may be easily adopted in other countries.

The aim of this chapter is to explore to what extent artificial intelligence (AI) could be introduced in new product development (NPD) process to support the decision making from the development to the launch of a new idea. Building on qualitative data from multiple cases from alcohol sector, the study reveals that AI could be introduced to reduce the risk of unsuccessful development and launch of a new product, supporting all the phases by systematically integrating feedbacks from the market. Specifically, AI can be used to create new recipes/flavours for alcohol drinks. Results also show that integrating AI from the idea scoping to the final product launch is feasible with the support of external stakeholders. The chapter concludes with some recommendations for theory and practice.

The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how the relational capital of the information technology (IT) department creates value in organizations. In addition, the paper presents a multi-dimensional scale to measure and manage relational capital in the IT department.

In the first, explorative phase of the study, interviews and focus groups were conducted in order to develop a new measurement scale, which was subsequently tested through a survey questionnaire (212 respondents).

This research suggests that the relational capital of the IT department is a very important resource for the creation of strategic value. The statistical analysis conducted for this study confirmed the validity and reliability of the novel scale developed to measure this resource. Finally, thanks to factor analysis, five dimensions for the scale were identified.

Data were collected in northern Italy only. Further studies are advisable to confirm the validity of the constructs and scale.

The questionnaire presented in this study can be used to monitor the effectiveness of the interactions between the IT department and the other key actors involved in IT-enabled innovation. The adoption of this scale and its possible adaptation to specific, evolving business contexts may enhance the practitioner’s understanding of the role of relational capital in the value creation process.

The paper contributes to the “third stage” of intellectual capital research by concentrating on an intra-organizational level of analysis, which has been overlooked in the literature to date.

This study investigates the perceptions of intellectual capital (IC) among senior managers at Italian local healthcare units (LHUs) and the interrelations among IC components. It also provides a comprehensive definition of IC in the healthcare context and managerial guidance on improving IC to enhance LHU performance.

A survey was carried out to investigate perceptions among LHU senior management and identify characteristics of each primary IC component. The pilot study's results were examined using principal component analysis.

The findings illustrate senior management's perceptions of IC in LHUs and the extent to which management identifies and manages IC. A comprehensive definition of IC components in the healthcare sector is derived from these findings.

The research provides a better understanding of IC in the healthcare context and facilitates further research into how IC may be incorporated in quotidian organizational procedures. Results suggest that LHU managers should invest in increasing trust and respect and engage employees in organizational processes to provide recognition for the active role they play. Ongoing management of the three primary IC components is shown to have clear advantages, particularly on their connectivity.

The paper contributes to an increasingly important strand of theoretical research – IC in the healthcare context – and also adds new knowledge on the practical applications of IC in LHUs.

Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.

The purpose of this paper is to bring the attention of the intellectual capital (IC) research and practice communities to the value of IC in hotels' efforts to resolve or mitigate environmental problems over time. This research has been set to examine the relationships between key KM and IC concepts including environmental knowledge structures and exploitation and exploration of environmental knowledge (EK) as drivers of environmental organisational learning. The research has also examined the relevance of pro-environmental behavioural intention capital (PEBIC) as a component of structural capital and therefore an integral part of the intellectual capital of hotels.

The data analysis technique used to test the proposed conceptual model is partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Sample received from 87 companies from the Spanish hospitality sector in a longitudinal study (six years).

The results support that environmental knowledge structures (exploitation and exploration) has a positive impact on PEBIC over time. In other words, environmental organisational learning has the capability to create structural capital in hotel over time.

The research has addressed the challenges of exploration and exploitation of EK and PEBIC from a perspective not previously covered in the extant literature, further improved by the longitudinal nature of this study. Our focus on the hospitality sector makes this research relevant for management structures at numerous of hotels, as well as to their supply chains around the world. In addition, this research highlights the value to create structural capital through EK and organisational learning in the context of take care of our natural resources.