The determinants of whistleblowing in public administrations: an analysis conducted in Italian health organizations,universities, and municipalities

The aim of this paper is to examine which variables are most important in encouraging whistleblowing in Italian public administrations, as a result of the compulsory application of the anti-corruption Law No. 190/2012. Our research is based on an empirical analysis of 365 public administrations: 86 hospitals, 137 health agencies, 39 universities, and 103 major Italian municipalities.

The results show that whistleblowing seems to occur more frequently in large public administrations, to be associated with formal procedures and an organizational proceduralization that encourages individuals to actually blow the whistle, and that it is only partially correlated to training and education.     

Proactive and reactive views in the transition towards circular business models. A grounded study in the plastic packaging industry

This article contributes to the studies on the transition towards circular business models in incumbent entrepreneurial firms. The focus of our research is the plastic packaging industry, a paradigmatic case of firms with a high environmental impact who are currently under pressure to change their business models. Following a grounded theory approach, we conducted an exploratory research on five case studies, longitudinally analyzed over two years. The results of our research suggest that the circularity challenge raises dilemmas about how to interpret the transition to sustainability. On one hand, the transition may be interpreted in a reactive way, based on compliance to the law and the highest possible levels of continuity. On the other hand, the transition may be interpreted in a proactive way, based on radical experimentation and openness to change. Our results highlight that the reactive-proactive dilemma unfolds at three interconnected levels: the firm’s network (including the customers), the entrepreneur, and the organization. Our study also suggests that the entrepreneur is in a position to play a pivotal role in the multi-level adoption of a proactive (or reactive) view. More specifically, our longitudinal analysis suggests that if the effectiveness and impact of transition to circularity is to be maximized, then a multi-level proactive view of the circularity transition is key to transforming the three interconnected levels (network, entrepreneur, organization) into a proper, sustainability-oriented innovation ecosystem.

     

Circular business models for sustainable development: A “waste is food” restorative ecosystem

Our aim is to provide a better understanding of a business model based on circular principles. In particular, we focus on two issues that support the development of a circular business model: (a) the focal actor as orchestrator of the circular network and (b) the circular ecosystem encompassing suppliers, customers, research centers, and public authorities, in which each actor/stakeholder plays a specific role, based on effective interorganizational relationships. The research method applied is an in‐depth nested single case study of a circular project. Our results highlight an exemplar case of an ecosystemic business model in agriculture, involving different types of innovation and strong collaboration among network members, orchestrated by a focal firm. The abductive approach used led to the formulation of some research propositions and to the identification of some adoption factors and barriers to growth in circular business models.