Case Studies | Luiss Business School - School of Management

Joule, Eni School of Entrepreneurship: Open Innovation as a People-Driven Process

Authors: Maria Isabella Leone, Ginevra Assia Antonelli Abstract: In today’s rapid and competitive corporate landscape, global companies are rethinking their processes and reevaluating their innovation approaches to embrace external influences. This aims to succeed in a more intricate context, addressing the swift changes brought by digital transformation and energy transition. Consequently, businesses are considering Open Innovation (OI) as a critical competitive necessity and are exploring how to deploy it efficiently. Similar events unfolded at the headquarters of Eni, an international player in the energy sector renowned for its extensive history and innovation. The company has traditionally placed substantial emphasis on its in-house Research and Development (R&D) initiatives. Over time, Eni has reached noteworthy milestones in R&D, primarily through its commitment to nurturing internal innovation, backed by considerable funding and the acknowledgment of the expertise of its R&D staff. Under Claudio Descalzi’s leadership as Eni’s CEO since 2014, the company has undergone a significant transformation. The digital shift, energy transition demands, and the Covid-19 pandemic have highlighted the importance of embracing an innovative approach that prioritizes collaboration and openness for faster, higher-quality advancements. As Eni transitions into a global energy company with a pronounced technological imprint, the corporation must reassess its workflows and reevaluate its approach to innovation within today’s complex competitive landscape. Given its legacy, track record of innovation, and the evolving economic, societal, and environmental expectations, a pressing question for the firm is how it can revamp its innovation strategy to foster a collaborative ethos driven by the expertise of Eni’s workforce, which represents the company’s greatest asset. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

LEONARDO’s IP Evolution - From a “sword and shield” posture to a mature IP rights management approach for coping with the new competitive landscape in the Aerospace & Defence industry

Authors: Maria Isabella Leone, Francesco Rogo Abstract: In recent years the Aerospace & Defence (A&D) industries have undergone significant technological, organizational and institutional changes that have profoundly altered their organizational architectures. These changes have introduced a new division of labour, bringing new opportunities for interaction and collaboration and leading to the creation of new valuable assets. In this context, the issue of protecting and exploiting innovation output has become central in the strategic agenda of the C-level board. Building and designing renew capabilities and governance for the shift from traditional policies and procedures to new models and practices is the real challenge to be met. This was the conviction of Alessandro Profumo, CEO, and Roberto Cingolani, CT&IO, of the Leonardo company when they resolved to make the IP evolution of the company a reality. 1. Sole 24 Ore e Luiss Business School, SustainEconomy.24 - La svolta dell’industria, Roma, 29 ottobre 2020, last retrieved in November 2020 and available here. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Interaction New models Organizational Architectures Strategic Agenda

“Let it flow!” Breaking taboos and stigmas about menstruation through ScarletScribe

Author: Lakshmi Balachandran Nair Abstract: Menstruation is simultaneously a taboo and a stigmatized topic in India and in many other parts of the world. For instance, menstruators (i.e. people who menstruate) in India are subjected to various cultural norms and religious restrictions such as not being allowed to partake in religious rituals, to enter religious institutions and kitchens, to draw water from wells, in addition to not being permitted to even touch plants, auspicious items, sour foods etc. In some Indian communities, women are even required to stay in separate menstrual huts during their periods. These and other similar negative connotations surrounding menstruation both directly and indirectly affect gender quality, reproductive and general health, access to education, opportunities for career development etc. for girls and women not only in India, but also worldwide (Werner et al., 2023). In the Indian context in particular, the lack of education and awareness surrounding menstruation and menstrual health is an additional hurdle. Girls who get their first periods are often ignorant or misinformed about puberty and periods. It is not uncommon for girls experiencing menarche to worry that they might have contracted an illness, when encountered with menstrual blood for the first time (Krishnan, 2022). The parents and teachers are either uncomfortable discussing the topic or are ignorant about it, or are both. Any information on menstruation is usually thus passed down to girls from reluctant, uninformed mothers. Such information might also come from friends or relatives, who themselves are likely to be either misinformed or to possess outdated information. Even grownup women are thus not properly informed and are thereby unequipped to handle the painful cramps, premenstrual syndrome, heavy bleeding, and the other physiological and psychological changes that accompany the menstrual cycle. This is the story of millions of menstruators in India, including the founder of ScarletScribe. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Education Equality Gender Ignorance

Luigi Lavazza S.p.A. “A Goal in Every Cup”

Authors: Mario Cerutti, Enrico D’Onofrio, Veronica Rossi Abstract: “In un mondo che distrugge i beni della natura, io non ci sto”. This was the purposeful statement – originally from Mr. Luigi Lavazza back in 1935 – that came to the mind of Mr. Antonio Baravalle – Lavazza Group CEO – on April 1st, 2021, when leaving the recently built headquarters Nuvola in Borgata Aurora (Turin), after another intense and fulfilling day of work. Lavazza had just released the 2020 financial results: Revenues of € 2.1billion, slightly down on the 2019 figure of € 2.2 € billion, Ebitda of € 253.0 million – against € 291.0 million in 2019 – and Net Profit of € 73.0 million versus € 127.4 million the year earlier. Net Financial Position was positive and had reached € 102.0 million, improving from the previous year of € 82.1 million. The reported results were confirming the strong financial solidity of the Company and had been achieved in a complex and difficult year, that had seen the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic deeply changing consumers’ behaviours. However, even more remarkable was the continued commitment to Sustainability. After internalising the SDG Goals into Lavazza’s Strategy, focusing on 4 goals and launching the GOAL ZERO (an innovative idea of Lavazza), the Company was moving forward with another daunting challenge: the “Roadmap to Zero”. ESG criteria were increasingly integrated in the Group strategy, the first milestone reached with the Roadmap to Zero, for which about 50 million euro had been invested in for the period 2020-2021. Goal was to work to reach Lavazza Group’s carbon neutrality by the end of 2030. The question was how deep Lavazza could embed all its sustainability values inside the Company and outside as well, to foster a positive transformation across the whole industry? What kind of activities could be done to accelerate this strategy? The fact that Lavazza was still owned by an enlightened family could help? How this would compare with the financial pressure that other listed multinationals and smaller private companies would feel, where quarterly profit reviews and/or overall economic results would put pressure on the single bottom line profitability versus the triple bottom line profitability that Lavazza could pursue? Could this fully purpose-driven approach become a disadvantage in the short run for Lavazza? Conversely, might the outbreak of covid-19 pandemic reinforce Lavazza’s conscious business and responsible leadership? Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

ESGs Purpose-Driven Approach SDGs

Maccarese – From agriculture to food techTrading-Up and De-CommoditizingValuable Raw Materials

Authors: Marco Francesco Mazzù, Andrea Benetton, Angelo Baccelloni, Ludovico Lavini Abstract: “Misurare per conoscere” – Measure to know – is the motto of Maccarese S.p.a., and the summary of how the organisation operates. Not only one of the most historic farms of Italy, it is also one of the largest. Over the years, since it was bought off from the Italian Government by Edizione S.p.a., one of Italy’s most prominent holding companies, it strived to adapt to change, to incorporate the most modern industrial techniques and technologies, and to innovate both in terms of operations and organizations. The current top management — Andrea Benetton, President, and Claudio Destro, CEO — set its vision to have every decision to be data-driven, including the ones on milk yield or crop performance, by gathering and leveraging a myriad of data-points from sensors spread out in the entire farm: a way to achieve efficiency while caring deeply about animal health, the environment and its community, and by producing end-products of the highest quality possible. In a discussion that took place during the latest management committee, however, a relevant set of new challenges became evident. On one side, end-customers, that shop for milk and dairy products at retailers, have limited possibility to distinguish the quality of a top milk product and understand the differentiation elements, when comparing dairy products to the one of farms much less structured and less attentive to quality and transparency of their end-products. In the end, how to ensure that end-customers understand the quality, and assign the proper value, to Maccarese S.p.a.’s operations? On the other hand, another point of the discussion was whether increasing attention by the Company on themes connected to Social Responsibility and on reshaping its purpose, was understood enough by the general public and the relevant stakeholders. Are these themes sufficiently connected to the vision of introducing the technology to the farming activities? So, while producing a variety of milk that, thanks to the care that is put towards the cows, their well-being and the quality of the food they eat, Maccarese S.p.A. finds itself at an impasse, that requires a solution that will guarantee the company’s future in the short and long-term.How then to ensure that all the efforts in terms of animal health and environment preservation are highlighted and valued in the right way? And, most importantly, how to make sure that other companies can be pushed towards the same goal of respecting the environment, and everyone who lives in it? Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Community Data-driven Environment Environment Quality

Macron: The strategic role of sponsorship to sustain brand growth

Author: Marco Francesco Mazzù In cooperation with Macron management and Antea Gambicorti Abstract: It was 7pm and the sun was going down the hills of Valsamoggia. The CEO Gianluca Pavanello was observing the work in progress for the Macron new headquarters : two buildings of 22.000 sqm crossed by a canal. Facing the building site of the new offices and distribution center, symbol of the fast growth of the company, the CEO asked himself: “We have done so much until now, but right now we are in front of a crossroads. How can we continue to achieve growth in the complex context where we operate?”. From a unique Italian distributor of baseball equipment on behalf of MacGregor USA and other American baseball brands, in 1971, Macron then twisted its offer, entering in the arena of professional football sponsorships. This signed the company trajectory towards the sports sponsorships, before only in Italy and then also abroad, until to reach today 71% of revenues abroad and 29% in Italy. The Macron rapid and stable improvement, especially in teamwear as its core business, reached the highest point in 2018, when the UEFA gave to the company three recognitions: the definition of Macron in “The European Club footballing landscape” (2018) as the third most important supplier in the world of European football, after Nike and Adidas; the decision to choose the Italian sports brand as its official partner for the supply of apparel to the smaller football federations for the years 2018-2022; choose again Macron as Official Referee kits supplier to all the referees of all the UEFA competitions (the most important: Champions League, Europa League, Euro 2020 and Nations League). However, despite these important recognitions, Macron management team was aware that a new step should be undertaken in order to compete in a global market with some global player (Nike, Adidas and Puma) and several aggressive attackers. How can Macron sustain its growth? How to keep growing internationally? What marketing levers to activate to stimulate awareness, trial, engagement and loyalty? Are strategic sponsorships still a valid growth tool or should be modified? Those seemed some of the core question Pavanello was about to discuss with his management team. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Engagement Growth Loyalty Strategy

Making Profits With A Sense of Purpose: Institutional Investors’ Influence On ESG Integration And Sustainable Investing

Authors: Francesca Romana Arduino, Alessandro Zattoni Abstract: In recent years, the business and financial community has devoted an increasing attention to environmental and social issues, so reinvigorating the long-standing debate – started in the ‘70s with CSR – about the role of corporations in society and their primary goal (purpose or profit). The traditional and dominant view – clearly expressed by Milton Friedman in 1970 in his famous New York Times article – emphasizes that the responsibility of managers is to conduct the business in accordance with shareholders’ expectations, “which generally will be to make as much money as possible while conforming to the basic rules of the society”. On the other side, the purpose perspective underlines that companies should generate long-term value for all stakeholders, including also the debtholders, employees, customers, suppliers, and the society. Putting differently, this view states that companies’ responsibilities go beyond maximizing financial returns for shareholders and include economic, social and environmental goals (the so-called triple bottom line). Pressures to encourage companies to embrace this new approach come from various sources. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

CSR ESGs Profit Purpose

Magazzino Doganale: The Jefferson Crew

Author: Carmela Donato Abstract: In 2015 Ivano Trombino decided to leave the permanent job he had been carrying out for several years at an Italian liquor distribution company (i.e., Compagnia dei Caraibi) and decided to fund his own liquor company called “Vecchio Magazzino Doganale” in Montalto Uffugo, a small village near Cosenza, in Calabria, a region located in the Southwest of Italy. Ivano – thick black beard, and a strong desire to talk about himself, including moving and funny anecdotes – envisioned a revolutionary concept of Italian liquor: no longer based on regional or local stereotypes, but based on a cosmopolitan image, winking to vintage, elegance but also to innovativeness and quality. All these elements are synthetized in the recipe invented by Ivano for his principal brand: the Jefferson bitter liquor. Moreover, he spent seven years reconstructing his family’s history experimenting with inter-bloom blends of Calabrian botanicals. Indeed, Calabria was already famous for the production of “Vecchio Amaro del Capo” a herb-based liquor produced by Distilleria Caffo that completely based its image on Calabria stereotype, in fact it recently introduced a chilly-version of the same liqueur, as chilly is the mainstream symbol of Calabria in Italy. Differently, Ivano’s liquors never mention in their package their Calabrian origin, despite all herbal ingredients comes from Calabria following a biologic processing. This revolutionary approach, in Ivano’s vision, needs to ground on a deep change based not only in the development of a premium product made by traceable ingredients based on local excellence, but also in a brilliant communication strategy – based on personification, or anthropomorphism – aimed at boosting the quality and the uniqueness of his products. Based on a shipwreck of three Americans around 1800 in Calabria, Ivano Trombino built the communication of his company and of his liquors using storytelling technique, in between of legend and of the real history of his family.Nowadays Ivano’s products (bottled near Cuneo, in the ancient Quaglia distillery) boast an international niche target, connoisseurs between 30 and 70 years old, and his most famous bitter liquor is called Jefferson.The main Ivano’ idea was rather simple and ambitious at the same time: to make the best liquor in the world, using only local, high-quality ingredients. Indeed, the company won in 2018 the World Liqueur Award with its leading brand Jefferson defined by the committee award as “… Strong nose, bitterness at the beginning coming through. Soft and smooth and very nicely balanced with a herbal finish” Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Innovativeness Quality Storytelling Technique

Marketing a TV Series: Building The Sea Beyond Series Success

Authors: Maria Giovanna Devetag, Giovanni Zazzerini, Walter Ingrassia Abstract: The case presents the structural features of the audiovisual industry and of the creative industry more generally, the peculiarities of cultural and creative products (infinite differentiation, experience goods, etc.), the factors that guide consumers’ choices (peer effects, status signaling, etc.), the current market trends characterized by progressive convergence among different sectors (cinema, TV, streaming platforms, etc.) and the marketing of a TV Series. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Audiovisual Industry Consumers Marketing Sectors

Mediaset

Authors: Mario Benedetto, Gabriel Mayrink, Andrea Delogu, Enzo Peruffo Abstract: Il settore dei media sta attraversando una fase di profonda trasformazione, caratterizzata da cambiamenti strutturali nel consumo dei contenuti, dall’emergere di nuovi competitor globali e da un’evoluzione della regolamentazione a livello nazionale e internazionale. In questo contesto, Mediaset rappresenta un caso di studio particolarmente interessante per comprendere le dinamiche di adattamento e innovazione di un gruppo storico della televisione italiana. Mediaset ha progressivamente consolidato la propria leadership nel mercato nazionale, affrontando sfide legate alla digitalizzazione, alla frammentazione dell’audience e all’ingresso di piattaforme globali di streaming. Oltre a una lunga tradizione di innovazione, il gruppo si distingue per la sua struttura di governance familiare, che ha garantito stabilità e visione strategica nel lungo periodo, ma che ha dovuto confrontarsi con le complessità del passaggio generazionale e con la necessità di internazionalizzazione. Il presente case study analizza l’evoluzione di Mediaset nel contesto della crisi del settore, esaminando le trasformazioni socio-demografiche e le nuove modalità di fruizione dei contenuti. Successivamente, viene ricostruita la storia dell’azienda, mettendo in luce il ruolo centrale dell’internazionalizzazione e innovazione come leva competitiva. Un focus particolare è dedicato alla governance del gruppo, esplorando il percorso di Mediaset verso una leadership europea e le implicazioni della creazione di Media For Europe (MFE). Infine, viene approfondito il ruolo dell’innovazione tecnologica nella strategia paneuropea del gruppo, con particolare attenzione allo sviluppo del prodotto e all’evoluzione dell’area informazione. Attraverso l’analisi di queste dimensioni, il caso Mediaset offre una prospettiva chiara sulle strategie adottate per affrontare le sfide del settore, fornendo spunti di riflessione sulle opportunità delle imprese familiari nel mercato dei media globalizzato. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Digitalizzazion Family Governance Leadership Media

Medici: Masters of Florence Around the Globe

Authors: Luca Pirolo, Luigi Nasta Abstract: The case provides an overview of the media and entertainment industry which is undergoing a seismic shift. The pace of technological change, the social dynamics affecting the consumer market, the entrance in the sector of new players are some of the main factors to analyse in order to comprehend the evolution of the industry. Specifically, the case focuses on the development of the TV series industry and describes the internationalization process of the Italian TV series “Medici: Masters of Florence”. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Change Consumer Evolution Technology

Monnalisa - When management control meets creativity and sustainability

Authors: Cristiano Busco, Tony Wain, Fred Nanni Abstract: Does management control kill creativity? How big is the challenge to manage efficiency within innovation and innovating processes? Do control and creativity call for a balance within processes of innovation – or is balancing bad? And how difficult is execute, measure and report sustainable strategies? The answer to these questions is probably one that is bedeviling entrepreneurs and executives everywhere around the world. While a controlled working environment has its advantages, it may hamper creativity, as well as the ability to innovate that leads to new products and to growth and profitability. In this Case we address these issues by offering insights from Monnalisa, a medium-sized enterprise in the fashion industry that has drawn upon formal and informal control tools to manage its concurrent and ongoing need for creative design and efficient production processes. In doing so a number of formal (such as collection briefing, provisional budget, contribution margin by collection; cost cards; balanced scorecard and strategy map; intellectual capital; annual integrated report) and informal (the role of the founder, inter-functional workgroups and focus groups, the photo story exercise) mechanisms of control are explored and discussed in the context of the case. Within this context, we also explore the attempt of Monnalisa to achieve its business objectives by executing, monitoring and reporting sustainable strategies. This case is particularly interesting because it combines the discussion on the adoption of traditional techniques with the implementation of recently developed management tools. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Creativity Strategies Sustenaibility Tools

Open Social Innovation local ecosystems: The case of Dolomiti Innovation Valley

Autori: Luca Tricarico, Maria Isabella Leone, Luciano De Propris, Arda Lelo Abstract: The teaching case entitled ‘Open social innovation local ecosystems: Dolomiti Innovation Valley’ describes how to put in practice open social innovation (OSI) management models, showing how apparently fuzzy aspects (such as openness and social change) become operational through multi-stakeholder governance and place-based approaches to sustain impactful local innovation ecosystems. Download Case Study Richiedi Teaching Notes

Ecosystem Governance Open Social Innovation Stakeholders

Orange Fiber’s growth path in the sustainable fashion industry

Authors: Maria Giovanna Devetag, Giovanni Zazzerini, Enrica Arena Abstract: The case analyses the key challenges faced by Orange Fiber during the transition from the startup to the scaleup stage. Orange Fiber is a company producing fabrics from citrus juice byproducts that otherwise would be wasted. The fabrics are produced starting from a silk-like cellulose yarn that can be used either in its purest form or blended with other materials.Challenges faced by the founders refer to the market, the financial resources needed to sustain the company’s growth, product development, as well as organizational issues. Download Case Study Richiedi Teaching Notes

Growth Market Organization Organization Product Product

Organizing amid the Fog of War: data-driven decision makingin high-reliable operations

Authors: Andrea Salvi, Paolo Spagnoletti Abstract: Uncertainty is a constant and systematic element on the battlefield and profoundly influence military operations. As Clausewitz (1982) argued, war is intrinsically bound to chance and a thick fog embraces decision-making in that context. This element dictates the need for frontline military functions to craft and implement processes to confront contingencies while minimizing the chances of errors and maximizing reliability. Mission-oriented organizing is an organizational doctrine (often called “Mission Command”) created to address these systemic characteristics through diffused leadership and collective mindfulness. In other words, members of the organization should have situational awareness towards the missions’ ends and be able to contribute to the decision-making process if the contingencies dictate so. Accordingly, digital systems and awareness-enhancing tools may be powerful mediums for mission-oriented organizing and may prove instrumental to the flourishing of beneficial practices in frontline contexts. Yet, data on which these systems rely may be inaccurate, discontinued or simply not available due to technical malfunctioning or human errors. Those pitfalls, given the peculiarities of the settings whereby frontline military organizations, can be extremely costly in terms of resources and human lives. Over-reliance on these systems may hamper the organizational nature of frontline functions and hinder their resilience and focus on reliability. This teaching case brings the users amid the fog of war (Willink & Babin, 2017): it takes place in the Ma’Laab district in Iraq during the “Second Battle of Ramadi” (2006). U.S. Forces and Iraqi Soldiers are conducting a series of operations to retake the district from the clutch of insurgents. They sweep through several areas of the city checking each building and each compound to detect hostile forces and to dismantle stashes of explosive materials and weapons. While on a mission, troops are monitored through a GPS tracking system called “Blue Force Tracker” (BFT). The system sends the position of allied troops (“blue”) to the Tactical Operations Centre (TOC) and each user can input enemy positions, obstacles, and other tactically relevant elements. During one particular “sortie”, the TOC receives a fierce firefight report from a U.S. Marine Corps Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company (ANGLICO) platoon - accompanied by an Iraqi platoon - with an unknown enemy unit hiding in building H204. Accordingly, the threat is inputted and mapped on the system. The marines report heavy fire from a compound, that resulted one casualty and several wounded operators. The TOC sends in a Quick Reaction Force (QRF) of armored infantry consisting of four Humvees to relieve the units that are still under the fire of an unseen enemy hiding behind concrete walls. Contemporaneously, the TOC gets another request for a QRF: a SEAL1 sniper squad in the same area - with declared position in a building (H142) - asks for immediate armored support calling in two Abrams Tanks. They are pinned due to heavy enemy fire: the squad is surrounded, outnumbered, and requires support for immediate extraction. The ANGLICO team – still engaged in the firefight -asks for clearance for an airstrike on the building in order the neutralize the threat. TOC immediately realizes what is happening. The SEAL sniper squad originally appeared to be in H204 on the BFT, they then declared by radio that they were abandoning the location to relocate in another building, then their trace disappeared from the system. The teaching case focuses on data-driven decision making in high-reliable operations and shows the advantages and pitfalls of live tracking systems in emergency frontline situations. Moreover, it highlights the interplay between technologies and coordination practices under extreme conditions. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Decision-Making Leadership Mission-oriented Uncertainty

Regulations hindering or enabling digital innovation?

Authors: Niloofar Kazemargi, Federica Ceci Abstract: On 21 April 2021, a new proposal for a regulation on Artificial Intelligence was published by European Commission. The EU AI Act defines AI and determines requirements for the development of ethical AI systems: identifying what and whom will be affected by the regulations. A few weeks later, Sam and Frank as part of the Deloitte Risk Advisory after finishing a meeting with a large client about an AI project, set a meeting to discuss together how they need to respond to that. They knew that the new proposal is significantly changing the development of AI in different sectors. They reflected on how they can better support client organizations when uncertainty is high, and things might change with new regulations. Over the last months, they learned that the regulation influence not only their development process and implementation of AI systems, but also their approach to supporting other companies.What was obvious to them was that this will be not the last time they discuss regulations and compliance requirements for digital innovation. Every time that a new legal framework will be proposed or come into force, they need to respond to such regulations. Download Case Study Request Teaching Notes

Clients Regulations Support