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This study aims to understand how employability capitals’ dynamics foster self-perceived employability (SPE) among students and graduates, which is still being empirically explored. Building upon the Employability Capital Growth Model and the Social Cognitive Career Theory’s career self-management model, we aimed to understand how different capitals associate by testing a serial mediation model connecting career identity (reflecting career identity capital) and SPE through the serial mediation of cultural capital and job interview self-efficacy (ISE) (an element of psychological capital).

We adopted a two-wave design involving 227 Italian University students and graduates. We recruited participants through multi-channel communication. The hypothesised relationships were analysed employing the structural equation modelling approach with the SPSS AMOS statistical package.

The results indicated that career identity, cultural capital, ISE and SPE are meaningfully related. In particular, in line with our expectations, we observed that career identity predicts cultural capital, which is positively associated with ISE which, ultimately, impacts SPE.

Our work adds to existing research by advancing the understanding of employability capitals, explaining how they interact and influence SPE, which is crucial for a sustainable transition into the workforce. At a practical level, our findings call upon, and guide, efforts from various stakeholders in the graduate career ecosystem (i.e. universities and their partners) to offer students and graduates meaningful experiences to form and use their employability capitals.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between general self-efficacy (GSE), job search self-efficacy (JSSE), extraversion and job search success within a sample of new entrants in the labour market. It is hypothesised that JSSE acts as a mediator between GSE and job search success. Evaluation of the hireability – made by expert interviewers – of new entrants involved in a job interview simulation is proposed as a job search success criterion. Moreover, the moderating role of extraversion on the relationship between JSSE and job search success is explored.

Data were collected on 177 graduates from an Italian university. Participants were involved in a simulation of an interview conducted by experts of the personnel selection process, who gave an evaluation. Macro PROCESS for SPSS was used to test the hypotheses.

GSE has an indirect effect on job search success via JSSE. Moreover, extraversion has a moderating effect on the JSSE–job search success relationship for more extraverted job seekers.

Job search and counselling practitioners should consider extraversion and personal differences to improve the effectiveness of interventions aimed at fostering new entrants' self-regulatory resources and behaviours during the job search.

This study contributes to the existing research about the job search process by testing a new and important job search success criterion, showing that GSE could help new graduates in establishing a specific self-efficacy, such as JSSE, and demonstrating that extraversion interacts with JSSE.

This study aims to investigate the factors that can influence the transfer process of training in open skills, i.e. non-technical skills (NTS). Specifically, according to the model of the transfer process, the aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of both personal (e.g. self-efficacy) and work environment (e.g. safety leadership styles) antecedents of intention to transfer.

A total of 88 workers belonging to two different plants of the same chemical company filled in a questionnaire at the beginning (T1) and at the end (T2) of the training intervention. The majority of the sample was composed of men (95.5 per cent), with the mean age being 45.19 years old, and they had worked in the same company for an average of 17.2 years. Personal (self-efficacy) and organizational (transformational and passive leadership) factors were measured at T1, while intention to transfer was measured at T2. To investigate the combined effect of both personal and environmental characteristics on the transfer process, a moderation analysis was conducted following the Preacher and Hayes approach.

Results showed that all the antecedents investigated (except for passive leadership) impacted on the intention to transfer. Furthermore, high levels of self-efficacy combined with higher levels of transformational leadership resulted in higher levels of intention to transfer.

The sample size is quite small, and effective transfer of NTS has not been measured.

Results suggest that organizations should focus on fostering self-efficacy of the trainees and transformational leadership of the supervisors so as to facilitate the transfer process of NTS.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study which has considered both individual and contextual characteristics to analyse the transfer process of NTS.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the positive association between job resources, i.e. autonomy and co-workers support, and psychological capital (PsyCap). In addition, it is aimed to assess the mediational role of PsyCap in the relationship between job resources, on the one hand, and work engagement and psychological distress on the other hand.

A sample of 235 employees working in a large-scale retail company completed a structured questionnaire. To test the hypotheses, the collected data were analyzed with structural equation modeling.

The results fully supported the hypotheses and showed that autonomy and co-workers’ support were positively associated with PsyCap. In addition, PsyCap fully mediated the effect of job resources on work engagement and psychological distress.

The results indicate that a greater degree of autonomy allowed to employees in performing their work, and social support from co-workers may significantly contribute to building employees’ personal resources such as PsyCap. This positive association between job resources and PsyCap, in turn, leads employees to feel more engaged in their work and prevents them from harmful outcomes such as symptoms of psychological distress.

This study extends prior research on the motivational process of the job demands-resources model. Furthermore, it develops the notion of resources caravans postulated by the conservation of resources theory in its attempt to examine PsyCap as a mediator in the association between job resources and different individual outcomes.

The purpose of this research is to study the role of the opportunity to receive job training in enhancing people's willingness to accept information technologies (IT) and in achieving employee satisfaction. The study aims to consider training opportunities as a predictor of IT self-competence, TAM model constructs and job satisfaction.

Structural equation models are used with a sample of 497 Italian workers who filled in a questionnaire.

The results show a good fit between hypothesis and empirical data. Moderator roles of individual and contextual variables on training opportunities effects were studied.

The practical implications of this study relate to the role played by training opportunities in the IT acceptance process and in creating job satisfaction.

The most innovative finding pertains to moderator roles of individual and contextual variables on training opportunities effects.

Studies on inter-firm relationships have recently shifted their attention from dyadic networks to more globally driven network structures. This condition occurs because embeddedness in global network structures may improve firm innovation and performance. In addition, the improvement of firm innovativeness and performance seems higher when globally networked firms both compete and cooperate between and among them. In this paper, we categorize the simultaneous interplay of cooperation and competition in the global arena as global network coopetition (GNC). Under GNC, multinational enterprises act jointly with their global partners-rivals to improve performance, at the same time by sharing complementary resources (cooperation side) and by undertaking independent actions to enhance their own performance (competition side). This paper aims to expand existing research on network and global coopetition by shedding light on the effects of coopetition between and among firms belonging to global network structures on value capture and innovation performance.

Using a sample of 100 firms belonging to 14 industries organized in 47 global networks of different sizes, the authors conducted a longitudinal empirical study over the period 2000-2014 covering 1,098 observations, 1,717 interfirm relationships and 78 inter-networks linkages. A multiple regression model on panel data with random effects was conducted on the sample of 1,098 observations related to the global automotive industry to test the research hypotheses.

Findings show that GNC enhances firm performance and innovation outcomes. In addition to GNC, structural characteristics such as network size, network position and network diversity have significant positive or negative effects on innovation and performance outcomes of firms belonging to these global network structures.

Our research offers a contribution to the literature dealing with global networked structures’ effects on firm innovation performance. In fact, it effectively complements prior work on outcomes of coopetition between firms embedded in complex network structures. It also advances research in the area by introducing the notion of GNC as a network by which firms can enhance their innovation performance and, therefore, their global innovation performance. This study has some limitations. First, we acknowledge that it is focused only on 14 global coopetitive networks. It could be promising to extend the scope to integrate other networks. Second, our measures of firm actions as based on a content analysis of news reports related to firms. It would be important to complement this data collection by conducting a qualitative analysis (interviews). Atlast, it could be promising to include the study of customer needs in the new product development process.

Our study also offers some insights into the management of coopetition. In fact, by taking into account the existence of a context in which global coopetition networks play a role, managers may be better positioned to effectively deal with the paradox of being a partner of their direct rivals to improve their firms’ innovativeness and, consequently, achieve good performance, on the one hand, and to maintain relationships within several networks by taking into account their structural properties such as centrality and diversity, on the other hand.

We contribute to extant network coopetition literature in two ways. First, we introduce the notion of GNC to detect coopetition occurrence in global network structures. GNC refers to a context where actors in various networks belonging to different industries and geographies cooperate in a one (or more) innovative project/s, while simultaneously keeping on competing within and between their networks. Second, we contribute to network coopetition by analyzing specific GNC effects on firm innovation performance. In so doing, we can provide a deeper analytical understanding of GNC performance effects on firms operating in global network contexts.

Digital platforms for the provision of food information-based services (FISs) represent a consolidated business with increasing revenue streams for entrepreneurs. Such platforms have transformed and clarified the nature of uncertainty and ambiguity inherent in the traditional food sector entrepreneurial processes. Anyway, a clear understanding of the value of digital platforms for FISs is not yet consolidated in the literature. With this paper, the authors try to fill this gap through a critical literature review of scientific research that combines knowledge on food consumer's behavior and user's knowledge behavior.

The authors carried out a critical literature review of scientific research combining knowledge of food consumer's and food information user's behavior. This allowed the identification of the main value components of FISs.

The authors propose a multidimensional framework for modelling the value proposition of digital platforms for FISs. Three main value dimensions have been identified: relevance, credibility, and accessibility. These dimensions concur with the consumer's perceived value of consumers in terms of benefits increase and cost reduction.

The research was intended to shed light on aspects characterizing consumers' perception of food information value. The authors put in evidence that the informational perspective of food communication is under-investigated. This study attempts to provide a holistic overview of the dimensions impacting on consumers' perception of the value of information for food consumers, opening new research perspectives.

The framework represents a tool for positioning food information offerings on the market, with the objective to analyze the value proposition of FISs according to a consumer perspective and to understand gaps of current offering of FISs. Moreover, it may support the design of a new generation of digital platform for food information provision, which would respond to consumers' expectations and information needs, highlighting emerging business opportunities for digital entrepreneurs.

Few research works provide a characterization of value proposition of digital platforms providing food information to consumers. In particular, to date, literature lacks of a holistic overview of the dimensions influencing consumer's perception of the information value of food communications.

The paper is aimed at assessing the safety of the Giotto's Bell Tower, with special attention to its foundation system, i.e. the foundation works and soil. The tower, well known all over the world, has a squared plan, with sides of 14.45 m each, and a total height equal to 84.7 m. The structural response of the tower is assessed with reference to the gravitational load and to the expected seismic action, quantified according to the seismic hazard of the site and the foundation soil.

A simplified analysis has been performed to check the safety level of the tower to seismic actions. Special attention has been paid to quantify the horizontal actions representing the seismic loads. Such quantification, indeed, has been made both through the elastic spectrum of the tower and by performing a site response analysis on the foundation soil, represented as a one-dimensional stratification of soil layers, described on the basis of experimental investigations. After defining the loading actions, a simplified assessment of the foundation safety has been made by considering the action over foundation, the geotechnical data and the safety factor.

The findings of the paper concern the assessment of the safety of the tower's foundation system. A lot of experimental data on the foundation soil, provided by various geological investigations, have been provided and used for the assessment. Moreover, the mechanical properties of the materials used for the structure have been collected and shown in the paper.

The paper collects a lot of technical information regarding the Giotto's Bell Tower, both regarding its foundation soil and the constituting materials. On the basis of the collected information, a structural analysis has been made to assess the seismic safety of the tower, and the results of such assessment are provided and discussed.