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Integration is a fundamental mandate of schooling in democratic and differentiated societies. This chapter analyzes the consequences generated by an increase in number of students without Italian citizenship in Italian schools, and the development of multiethnic classrooms. When non-Italian pupils comprise >25–50% of the pupils in classrooms, it’s worth questioning: Are these classrooms segregated? Which factors affect school integration and for whom? The chapter presents the results of the first survey on classrooms with a “high density” of students with an immigrant background carried out in Italy. This study is based on a sample of 1,040 students enrolled in lower secondary education in Lombardy. We use statistical indicators related to two dimensions of integration: (a) the institutional dimension (school access and achievement), and (b) the relational dimension (well-being and absence of conflicts among peers). Data analysis included indexes and a correlation matrix between indexes, regression analysis, and cluster analysis. Results demonstrate a positive correlation between the rate of non-native students in the classroom and low degree of integration, but also the complexity of factors at stake such as gender imbalance and the high concentration of students whose families have a low Socio-Economic Status (SES), independently from citizenship. These results enabled us to de-construct the concept of school integration, identifying a plurality of integrative factors and providing suggestions for intervention.

The authors investigate the contributions of social capital (SC) dimensions (bridging, bonding and linking) in crowdfunding campaigns by comparing the dynamics of agri-food businesses with those of two other sectors – cultural and technological.

The authors develop linear regressions on a proprietary data set of 5,290 projects launched on the Italian platform “Produzionidalbasso.com”, from 2014 to 2020.

The authors’ findings suggest that combining the three social capital dimensions (bridging, bonding and linking) has a more substantial overall effect on the number of backers involved in agri-food projects than in cultural and technological projects. Agri-food entrepreneurs effectively mobilize all resources embedded in the SC dimensions and therefore create the conditions to develop new ties that financially support the project.

Agri-food entrepreneurs may benefit from those results improving their funding strategies. Therefore, agri-food entrepreneurs can explore and exploit the instruments available on the CFD platform – video and rewards associated with the campaign – gaining more benefit from the backers involved compared with other project categories.

The study proposes a broader perspective regarding SC that encompasses the proponent, the company and the campaign with three different types of ties: bonding, bridging and linking. These SC dimensions can differently shape diverse sectors and this eclectic configuration can differentiate the effects of SC in crowdfunding campaigns. This study pinpoints how crowdfunding determinants change, based on project categories.

This study aims to provide empirical evidence on the link between intellectual capital and a firm's ability to attract funding and financing in Italian companies.

Data from 125 Italian companies was collected through an online survey and analysed using structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

Results show that structural capital has a positive, direct impact on both human and relational capital. At the same time, relational capital is the only intellectual capital component that has a positive, direct impact on a firm's ability to attract funding and financing. Finally, we found that a firm's ability to attract funding and financing impacts both innovation and financial performance.

This novel study is among the first to provide empirical evidence of how human, relational and structural capital interact with each other and enhance a firm's ability to attract funding and financing.

The study investigates the effects of core self-evaluations on project managers' competencies. The study further examines the moderating effect of cultural intelligence between core self-evaluations and competencies.

In this study, with a descriptive-survey approach, necessary data were collected from a sample of project managers of Iran's Ministry of Communication and Information Technology through questionnaires. The conceptual framework of the study was tested according to structural equation modeling by PLS software.

Findings show that core self-evaluations have positive and significant effects on project managers' competencies among which psychological stability has the greatest effect. Furthermore, the moderating role of cultural intelligence in the relationship between core self-evaluations and project managers' competencies was confirmed. According to the calculated coefficient, motivational cultural intelligence had the greatest role.

The data were collected using a questionnaire at a single point in time, and thus, not allowing cause–effect inferences. Also, the demographic variables were not controlled.

The results of this study provide some implications for HRM professionals and project managers interested in promoting a system of HR practices that contributes to enhancing project managers' competencies and effectiveness.

This study advances our understanding of the factors that have an effect on project managers' competencies, specifically on a list of main competencies necessary for project managers' performance. Moreover, it suggests that project managers' competencies will benefit from cultural intelligence, which will display a greater effect when embedded in highly diverse cultural contexts.