Case Studies | Luiss Business School - School of Management

Deus ex Machina. It’s The Link, There’s No Thing

Authors: Federico Minoli, Enrico D’Onofrio Abstract: In March 2020 Deus ex Machina’s (Deus) President and CEO Federico Minoli, a veteran of the sport and luxury industries with top roles at Benetton, Ducati, Dainese, Bally and POC Sports was confined by the Covid pandemic to his house in Boston. His bichon frisé Pepsi was looking at him anxiously, sensing that something was troubling the mind of her loving owner. Minoli was indeed struggling to imagine how to face the insidious threat that Covid-19 posed to Deus, a brand that he, together with a group of friends, had acquired only three years earlier. Minoli and friends had been attracted to Deus by the transformative potential of the brand and had imagined a worldwide expansion of a business still in its infancy. What is Deus Ex Machina? Is it a motorcycle and surfboard company? An apparel Company? A new concept of restaurant? An art gallery? A content producer? Deus is none of these things and at the same time it is all of them. Deus is a philosophy of life, an incubator of creativity, a generator of culture. It is anchored by Deus Temples, large venues that bring people together to enjoy music, food, shopping, and events – to watch a custom motorcycle take shape, or simply to feel relaxed and happy. It is the magic of a Temple that sets Deus apart and allows significant sales of Deus’ products also indirectly through a worldwide multi-channel distribution. The strategic issues around the post-Covid future of Deus were complex and controversial, and Minoli struggled to find the right answers. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Developing a New Product During Crises Situation: Dangers, Dilemmas, and a Possible Way Out

Authors: Prem Sagar Menghwar, Fabian Homberg, Evangelos Syrigos Abstract: All the well-known celebrities were rushing to the Asim Jofa office, they were seen stitching the suit as a message to skilled labour that they can also manufacture a product that is in high demand. The real story was not an invention but manufacturing a product that can be re-used and available for free for health workers. Asim Jofa and the team were convinced that this is the best time to do the philanthropic work. Hence, they jumped into it without assessing challenges, dilemmas and barriers a designer company could face when it takes part in the production of a product used in the health sector. The CEO of the company announced on social media that they plan to manufacture personal protective equipment — putting all the credibility of the company at stake if things go the other way around. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Challenges Credibility Health Production

Developing Digital Solutions Under Uncertainty: Crisis-Driven Agility

Authors: Niloofar Kazemargi, Paolo Spagnoletti Abstract: February 2021, exactly one year after the Covid-19 outbreak, Aaron, COO of the Digital unit, and Tony, Director of the Digital unit, having their virtual happy hours after a webinar. In the webinar, the successful projects were presented. They and their teams worked hard during the last year. It was a rough year, and now time to celebrate the success. Although both were satisfied with the performance of their teams, they knew that the Group needed yet to cope with the uncertainty. They didn’t know how long the situation will last. But they knew that the Group needed to enhance its ability further to sense and respond to changes quickly. While reflecting on the last year, Aron and Tony sought to answer many questions: “What are the main consequences of the outbreak for the Group? Is the “new normal” an opportunity or a threat? What did we learn from this tough year? What did help us to complete the projects with success? How we can still be more agile, flexible and responsive?” Download Case Study Richiesta Teaching Notes

Agility Crisis Digital Innovation Dynamic Capability Uncertainty

Digital Enablers for new Decision Journeys: creating and adopting digital touch points - Sorgenia

Author: Marco Francesco MazzùIn cooperation with Sorgenia management and Ludovica Serafini Abstract: Gianfilippo Mancini, Sorgenia’s CEO, was looking out of the window of his office in the new sustainable and digital headquarter of the company: he was incredibly proud of Sorgenia’s achievements after the crisis period. Sorgenia had gone far in only three years, but it wasn’t still enough. The goal was to stand out in the market. The CEO was trying to figure out which would be the ideal direction to steer the company in the next years, which actions were needed to impose Sorgenia on the Italian market as the first non-incumbent energy company, and if new trends (production of cleaner energy, longterm sustainability, digital) should be among his priority going forward. A constant thought was also recurring in the management’s agenda: how to transform the perception of energy from being a mere commodity to something that customers consider as a relevant part of their ordinary life. The enhanced-protection regime, in the overcrowded Italian energy retail market, was about to be abolished – as of July 1st, 2020 -, and energy retailers need to develop their strategy to capture the new opportunity. In addition, approximately 25 million energy meters would have to rely on new suppliers in ways not yet codified by the regulation. The goal was radically changing the perception customers have about energy. The keyword was “choice”: let customer have the chance to actively choose an energy offer suitable for their needs. By blending its new positioning with its pioneering attitude in exploiting technology, Sorgenia re-thought all the customer experience in order to give them exactly that: the chance of comparing offers and evaluating the most suitable. A new era was starting: an energy sustainable, shared, easy and full digital. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Choice Retail Market Strategy Sustainability

Driving the Change: Chiesi Farmaceutici’s Evolution as Benefit Corporation and B Corp

Authors: Francesca Romana Arduino, Alessandro Zattoni Abstract: Chiesi Group is a global Italian private pharmaceutical company owned by Chiesi family. In 2024, the Group operates through 31 global affiliated companies, has 4 production plants located in Europe (Italy, France, Germany) and in Brazil, and 7 Research & Developmentcenters situated in various countries (i.e., Italy, Canada, UK, USA, France, China, Sweden). The company has over 7,000 employees, more than half are females, and its revenues exceeded €3 billion in 2023. The consolidated revenues of the Chiesi Group have shown a steady growth over the last ten years, in particular since 2019, when the company embarked on an incredible sustainability journey. Particularly, in 2018 Chiesi adopted the legal form of Benefit Corporation in Italy and in the US and in the following year achieved the B Corp certification at Group level. In 2022 the Group went through its first re-certification process, that was successfully completed with a higher score which meant an improved social and environmental performance and impact management practices. Notwithstanding its remarkable results and a steadily increasing performance, Chiesi, as many other companies, is going to face new challenges in both the near and long-term future. On 28th November 2022, the European Union, in fact, approved the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) that requires companies to disclose information - about the social and environmental impacts of their own operations as well as along their supply chain. As a result of this new directive, an increasing number of companies will submit in 2025 their CSRD-compliant report for the 2024 financial year. The Chiesi Group will be subject to the new reporting requirements by CSRD for the 2025 financial year, with the report that will be published in 2026. This law will increase the sustainability disclosure and probably also strategic approach to sustainability by large European companies. Also, in response to the evolving ESG regulatory framework as well as increasingly complex global environmental and societal challenges that threaten the world we live in, B Lab has launched stakeholders’ consultations in order to evolve the B Corp standards in alignment with the current revolution sustainability realm is facing. Chiesi has contributed to these consultations and it is looking with attention to the evolving moment that also the B Corp community is undergoing, being committed to continue to measure and improve its social and environmental impacts by adopting standards that can push the company beyond compliance requirements, using business as a force for good to foster an inclusive andregenerative economy. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

B Corp Environment ESGs Sustainability

Digital Twin for Innovative Air Services: Enabling Air Mobility through AI

Authors: Andrea Giannobile, Paolo Spagnoletti Abstract: In the picturesque yet rugged terrains of Northern Italy, a distress call from the Alpine emergency services signals an urgent situation: a hiker has been severely injured during a climb. The hiker is located in a remote, mountainous area where weather conditions are deteriorating, and the terrain is too challenging for traditional rescue methods. The clock is ticking, and the need for an immediate response is paramount. Emergency responders are faced with a dilemma—how can they quickly and safely reach the injured hiker before the situation worsens? This scenario underscores the vital role of advanced air service technology. The Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC), responsible for overseeing airspace safety and compliance, coordinates the deployment of a medical emergency drone. This decision reflects a broader trend in aviation technology, where Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) are becoming essential tools in enhancing not only emergency responseoperations but also other critical sectors such as logistics, infrastructure inspection, andtransportation. The integration of these innovative technologies into existing airspacesystems is not without its challenges. Safety, regulatory compliance, and airspacemanagement become more complex as the skies fill with manned and unmanned vehicles.To address these challenges, ENAC embarked on a transformative project—HyperTwin.This sophisticated digital twin platform is designed to streamline the authorization andmanagement of innovative air services like drone operations. By utilizing advancedsimulations and real-time data analysis, HyperTwin aims to improve decision-making andensure the safety of airspace in complex and critical situations.In this teaching case, we will explore the strategic decision-making processes behindHyperTwin’s development, the technological challenges ENAC faced, the collaborativeefforts with various stakeholders, and the communication strategies employed. This casenot only provides a detailed look at how HyperTwin came to be but also delves into broaderimplications of digital transformation for the aviation industry and public administration. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Communication Decision-Making Innovation Transformation

Elettricità Futura: the challenge for integration, innovation and sustainability in the electric industry

Authors: Matteo Caroli, Claudia Pongelli, Luca Silla Abstract: Elettricità Futura represents more than 700 companies within the Italian electric industry. Overall these companies employ over 40,000 people and hold more than 76,000 MW of installed and conventional electric power and about 1,150,000 km of lines. Over 70% of electricity consumed in Italy is supplied by companies affiliated to Elettricità Futura (hereafter labeled as associates). Elettricità Futura associates electric producers both from renewable and conventional sources as well as distributors and service providers. Its mission is to support the creation of an efficient electric market and to meet the challenges of the future. Indeed, de-carbonization and energy efficiency require the development of renewable sources, the full use of high efficiency generation plants, the provision of adequate services, the development of the distribution system and the electrification of the final uses of energy. Although this organization is relatively new, it has roots in the history of the development of the Italian electric industry which has been experiencing radical changes in recent years. It was founded on 27 April 2017 from the merge between Assoelettrica and Assorinnovabili. Until then these two organizations were representing two very distant worlds as Assoelettrica was joining mainly large thermal producers whereas Assorinnovabili was linking a multitude of small producers of various types of renewable energy. Due to its ability to represent the heterogeneous Italian electric industry within a unique organization, Elettricità Futura has rapidly gained a strong institutional importance in Italy. However, the path towards the integration is anything but easy and the challenge for the future is to keep this unity over time as well as fostering the changes occurring in the industry. The case is organized as follows. With the aim to track the main characteristics of the context wherein Elettricità Futura has to operate, the first part describes the transformation that the electric industry in Italy experienced in the last twenty years. In the second part the case of Elettricità Futura is outlined. Download Case Study Richiesta Teaching Notes

Challenges Providers Sources Transformation

Facing a new World: Repositioning Police Services for the 21st Century

Author: Fabian Homberg Abstract: It was the fifth of July 2016. Mr Oliver Schumann came home after a long day of meetings with mixed feelings. On the one hand he was happy as he had been charged with a major task which he interpreted as a strong signal of trust by his superiors. On the other hand, he was also worried because it was a daunting task. He works for a regional police force, and his boss asked him to lead a major repositioning initiative that involved a strategy redesign. The current strategy focused on “securing the region” was not adequately developed to address recent societal changes the police was facing at the time. Additionally, he knew from his own experience in the organization that most officers make fun about it and do neither find it appealing nor relevant. It was his first role as project leader and thus he felt a strong pressure to complete the project successfully. As a civilian employee he had been working for the regional police force for the past 3 years. Benefitting from a degree in strategy from a well-ranked institution he had been leading the police’s organizational development office since January 2013. This office develops, consults on and implements major organizational initiatives. Most of his colleagues look at it as being some form of in-house consultancy. Apparently, his superiors were satisfied with his performance on the job to date since he took over the position and hence, charged him with the task to lead the repositioning initiative. On the one hand, he felt proud and enthused about the fact that he was given such an important project impacting the whole organization. “It may be a real chance and also a very interesting project”, he thought. Also additional resources were granted to him in order to expand his team and an increased budget for the next three years highlighting the importance of the project. Thinking thoroughly about it, he concluded that the project has the potential to be the springboard for his next promotion – but only if it was a success! Thus, on the other hand he was very stressed, as he knew that a majority of change projects fail and that visions and strategies are easier written than implemented. For example, he vividly remembers the discussion that were triggered by a Towers Perrin Report launched in 2013 on the high failure rates of change initiatives. The headline still stuck to his mind: “Only One-Quarter of Employers Are Sustaining Gains from Change Management Initiatives”. At all costs, he wanted to bring the majority of law enforcement officers behind him and to deliver a successful strategy redesign. He also remembers reading a recent study by McKinsey stating that 49% of company redesign projects fail. It seemed that he would have to cross a bridge over troubled waters, he thought. The fact that he was employed in a rather civilian function, not being a law enforcement officer working on the streets on a daily basis might be perceived as an additional obstacle by the law enforcement officers who form the largest fraction of personnel in the organization. Also, time was pressing! He clearly was aware of the need to get feet on the ground and to start working on the project. But how should he start? His mind was spinning! Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Initiative Leadership Leadership Strategy Vision

Facing the tide of Covid: crisis management driving innovation: the Coccato e Mezzetti case

Authors: Antonio Majocchi, Luciano Fratocchi, Manuela Presutti Abstract: Coccato e Mezzetti S.r.l. (hereinafter C&M) – is a medium-sized enterprise in the funerary and sanitary business with around 60 employees located in Galliate, in the province of Novara in the North of Italy. The company was established on 25 October 1983 by Pasquale Coccato and Carlo Mezzetti, who equally share the ownership of the company. The current company is an evolution of C&M Snc, founded by the same partners in 1978. After an initial transfer of a 10% of shares to the Coccato family, in 2001, upon the death of the co-founder Carlo Mezzetti (2006) his heirs decided to sell the remaining 40% of the share capital to the Coccato family. The deal took place in December 2008. Today the company is a typical family firm with owners and top managers coming from the Coccato family. C&M Snc’s original goal was to carry out production and commercial activities in the funeral products sector. Over the years, the founders have created an entrepreneurial journey characterised by both diversification strategies and downstream integration, which led C&M, among other things, to produce textile products for the health sector and provide funeral services. The story of Coccato is a story of managerial agility where the company shows not only a capacity of adaptation to the evolving competitive contexts, but also a constant and steady ability to find and exploit new business opportunities by both leveraging internal resources and cooperating with external partners. Thanks to its ability, which it has developed over the years, to adapt to very different circumstances and to continuously look for new business opportunities, the company was able to successfully navigate through the Covid crisis that heavily impacted the area where the company is located. During the worst days of the pandemic, the company – in a very difficult context – was able to increase production and to start offering products for which there was a very high demand in Italy. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Diversification Strategies Downstream Integration Family Business

Forno Brisa: un sogno collettivo, radici nella natura per un futuro sostenibile. Anno 2020

Author: Lucio Attinà Abstract: Una sacca per valigia, infradito ai piedi e il sogno di aprire una pizzeria a Ibiza: così Davide è apparso per la prima volta agli occhi di Pasquale, tra i corridoi dell’Università di Scienze Gastronomiche di Pollenzo nel 2013. Il colpo di fulmine professionale è scattato immediatamente. Pasquale, l’abruzzese cresciuto a pane e olio e condivisione e Davide, il bolognese giramondo dalla creatività vulcanica, negli anni a seguire hanno mescolato e consolidato il sogno dell’uno e i talenti dell’altro, compiendo e costruendo un’impresa che non è solo una start up dal nome Forno Brisa operante nel settore della produzione e commercializzazione di pane ed altri prodotti alimentari, ma un’impresa che ha portato alla nascita di una squadra di più di trenta giovani talenti, quattro spazi di socialità a Bologna e un laboratorio di produzione che può a tutti gli effetti considerarsi una mostra permanente di Street Art, con i muri dipinti da artisti talentuosi. Il loro sognare e concretizzare costantemente nuovi progetti è diventato un moto travolgente che ha generato una rete coesa di collaboratori, consulenti, fan e fornitori che hanno trovato nella campagna di crowdfunding l’occasione per partecipare direttamente all’impresa e contribuire a raggiungere nuove mete, aggiungendo obiettivi ambiziosi al progetto sempre in crescita. La pizzeria a Ibiza ancora non c’è, chissà magari un giorno, ma quello spirito fresco e tumultuoso, onirico e concreto che ha contraddistinto il Forno Brisa prima ancora della sua stessa nascita continua ancora oggi ad accompagnare la storia di questa impresa. Adesso per i due giovani founder e per la loro community si pone la domanda di come immaginare e costruire il prossimo futuro, da un lato restando fedeli alle loro radici ed alla loro visione improntata alla generazione di felicità e impatto positivo su natura e persone, ma dall’altro garantendo una sostenibilità economica basata su solidi valori economici. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Community Sostenibilità

Head & Shoulders’ Commercials in China and in Italy: Understanding Cultural Differences To Develop Effective Communication

Authors: Maria Giovanna Devetag, Giovanni Zazzerini, Vincenza Caputo Abstract: Marco is the H&S global brand manager. In his office in Milan, he is reviewing annual figures, and looking at communication costs, he starts wondering about a worldwide cost-cutting strategy. In his mind, the option of developing a global one-fit-all campaign instead of several local ads seems the best solution. He decides to share his thoughts with his colleagues before making the final decision.Chiara, the Italian-Chinese newly employed H&S marketing analyst, who has a background of sinological studies and entered H&S after coming back from a work experience in China, participates to the meeting, taking place in the late afternoon.Marco: “our brand has a global reach, our brand identity is well defined and customers appreciate our products. We’ve invested a fortune to communicate our uniqueness, but now I have been asked to pay attention to communication costs and I am inclined to opt for a single campaign fitting all the markets we operate in. In my view a single global campaign would be equally effective as compared to different campaigns for local markets and it would save us some costs. Think about what we did last year with the Chinese and Italian markets (see Annex 1 – The Italian and Chinese Advertising campaigns), don’t you think that we could develop a global one-fits-all campaign?”. Download Case Study Richiesta Teaching Notes

Brand Identity Campaign Cost-cutting Strategy

INAIL’s Teaching Case

Authors: Marta Grasso, Valentina Meliciani, Fabrizio Sammarco Abstract: Interest in digital transformation, which in its broadest sense indicates a process of continuous evolution aimed at increasing the reproduction of world capital over time through technological innovation, initially spread among those companies searching for methods designed to better increase their ability to be resilient in future crises. This interest reached its peak during the pandemic period when Public Administrations had to promptly respond to emerging needs and ensure the continuity of services. The Covid-19 pandemic greatly accelerated the process of digitalization and of organizational transformation within companies and in the Italian public sphere. In this period INAIL underwent a profound transformation that was completed by the creation of the Digital Workplace and culminated in the adoption of the Single Digital Desk. As a lever for change, the Institute’s Central Management for Digital Organization (DCOD) has developed a new approach for the management of technologies and data, as well as a novel way of selecting and dealing with suppliers, and has defined a new strategy for supporting INAIL’s transformation from e-government to digital government. This process has required important changes in the Institute’s organizational model in order to harmonize remote work with social interaction and improve the community’s well-being. In line with the vision of an innovative public administration, open to change and sensitive to the issue of organizational well-being, the Institute has transformed the way its employees work through high-level technological solutions and collaboration platforms.This didactic case uses INAIL’s experience to highlight the relationship between various technological trends, the evolution of organizational models and their social consequences. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Community Digitalization Government Transformation

Innovation and Transformation in Italy’s State General Accounting Department

Authors: Giulia Peruzzi, Paolo Spagnoletti. Abstract: In recent years, Italy’s Ragioneria Generale dello Stato (RGS) - the State General Accounting Department - has faced significant pressure to modernize and standardize its operational processes. As a key institution within the Italian Public Administration (PA), RGS is responsible for overseeing the financial transactions of the government, ensuring fiscal compliance, and providing vital support to both Parliament and government agencies. Given these responsibilities, innovation and digital transformation are no longer optional, but essential for operational efficiency and sustainability. In response to these challenges, RGS launched the i-lab Program, a groundbreaking initiative designed to foster innovation through experimentation, collaboration, and co-Design. The program was spearheaded by the Ispettorato Generale per l’informatica e l’innovazione tecnologica (IGIT), the General Inspectorate for Information Technology and Technological Innovation within RGS, which aimed to drive digital and organizational transformation across Italy’s public institutions. This teaching case explores how the i-lab Program initiated long-term structural change within RGS, emphasizing the cultural and operational impacts of innovation in Public Administration. Through the dual lens of a public entity and a complex organization, this case study highlights key lessons from the i-lab journey that are relevant to any organization, public or private, seeking to foster innovation. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Digitalization Innovation Modernize PA

Italcer – Il progetto Advance

Author: Gianni Lorenzoni Abstract: Italcer nasce l’8 maggio 2017 per iniziativa del fondo Mandarin Capital Market e di Graziano Verdi con l’obiettivo di creare un gruppo che aggreghi varie imprese del distretto ceramico di Sassuolo. Secondo Alberto Forchielli, partner fondatore di Mandarin C.P. “La ceramica è uno dei pochi settori in cui l’Italia mantiene una indiscussa leadership mondiale. Abbiamo i due più grandi produttori di macchinari per ceramica. Sarebbe un delitto rinunciare a un grande accesso al mercato dei capitali, per un’azienda locale con un management che pensa globale”. Graziano Verdi, per molti anni all’interno del settore ceramico, ha guidato la crescita di Graniti Fiandre e la quotazione in Borsa della società, poi in Technogym e ancora nel gruppo Iris. Verdi dichiara: “L’obiettivo è creare un polo presente nei vari segmenti di prodotto che ha come filo conduttore l’alto di gamma attraverso il quale posizionare l’azienda sul mercato”. Nei 5 anni successivi vengono acquisite 7 imprese con prodotti e dimensioni diverse a partire da La Fabbrica, un’azienda ceramica in provincia di Ravenna. A questa hanno fatto seguito Elios e Elle Ceramica (fusa in Elios) e Devon & Devon, sempre nel 2017; nel 2018 le acquisizioni di Ceramica Rondine e di Spray Dry mentre nel 2020 è la volta di Cedir e nel 2021 della Spagnola Equipe. Nel 2022 di Fondovalle. È ancora in stand by l’investimento per un impianto di produzione 4.0 negli Stati Uniti per consolidare la presenza del gruppo sul mercato e per sfruttare le opportunità di rifornimento di materia prima e il più basso costo di energia di un’azienda energivora. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Capitali Mercato Opportunity Produzione

Italgas: Embracing Digital Transformation

Digital Transformation Environment Organizational Culture Process

Italcer Spa

Authors: Gianni Lorenzoni Abstract: Italcer nasce l’8 maggio 2017 per iniziativa del fondo Mandarin Capital Market e di Graziano Verdi con l’obiettivo di creare un gruppo che aggreghi varie imprese del distretto ceramico di Sassuolo. Secondo Alberto Forchielli, partner fondatore di Mandarin C.P. “La ceramica è uno dei pochi settori in cui l’Italia mantiene una indiscussa leadership mondiale. Abbiamo i due più grandi produttori di macchinari per ceramica. Sarebbe un delitto rinunciare a un grande accesso al mercato dei capitali, per un’azienda locale con un management che pensa globale”. Graziano Verdi, per molti anni all’interno del settore ceramico, ha guidato la crescita di Graniti Fiandre e la quotazione in Borsa della società, poi in Technogym e ancora nel gruppo Iris. Verdi dichiara: “L’obiettivo è creare un polo presente nei vari segmenti di prodotto che ha come filo conduttore l’alto di gamma attraverso il quale posizionare l’azienda sul mercato”. Nei 5 anni successivi vengono acquisite 7 imprese con prodotti e dimensioni diverse a partire da La Fabbrica, un’azienda ceramica in provincia di Ravenna. A questa hanno fatto seguito Elios e Elle Ceramica (fusa in Elios) e Devon & Devon, sempre nel 2017; nel 2018 le acquisizioni di Ceramica Rondine e di Spray Dry mentre nel 2020 è la volta di Cedir e nel 2021 della Spagnola Equipe. Nel 2022 di Fondovalle. È ancora in stand by l’investimento per un impianto di produzione 4.0 negli Stati Uniti per consolidare la presenza del gruppo sul mercato e per sfruttare le opportunità di rifornimento di materia prima e il più basso costo di energia di un’azienda energivora. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Crescita Leadership Leadership Mercato Posizionamento