Papers by Alessandro Narduzzo
Springer eBooks, Nov 17, 2021
Transactive knowledge from communities of practice to firms
European Journal of Innovation Management, May 8, 2017
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze to what extent and under which conditions R&am... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze to what extent and under which conditions R&D projects benefit from team members’ participation in spontaneous and work-related communities of practice (CoPs).Design/methodology/approachThis is a quantitative empirical study. R&D projects are the unit of analysis. Data are collected through interviews to 121 informants who are members of 60 R&D projects and participants in 195 CoPs.FindingsThe participation of project team members in work-related CoPs positively affects the R&D project performance. This positive effect applies also to radically innovative projects. The diversity in the institutional affiliation of CoPs members is also highly significant and positively correlated with the project performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper considers only work-related CoPs, thus neglecting the knowledge transacted through other types of CoPs.Practical implicationsPractitioners should support the autonomous participation of project team members to spontaneous and work-related CoPs that cut across the organizational boundaries. Team leaders may enhance team innovative capabilities and performance by ensuring diversity of knowledge and skills from CoPs whose members work for institutions that differ from each other.Originality/valueFirst, this study provides quantitative evidence of the CoPs ability to support innovation. Second, this research is focused on spontaneous and work-related CoPs within business environments. Third, this study does not analyze CoPs performance, but it postulates a connection between innovative organizational units (i.e. R&D projects) and spontaneous CoPs that cut across the firms’ boundaries.
Conducting Experimental Research on Organizational Routines
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2008
Modular Design and the Development of Complex Artifacts: Lessons from Free/Open Source Software
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Sep 29, 2003
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, Jun 29, 2003
Organizational and managerial theories of modularity applied to the design and production of comp... more Organizational and managerial theories of modularity applied to the design and production of complex artifacts are used to interpret the rise and success of Free/Open Source Software methodologies and practices in software engineering. Strengths and risks of the adoption of a modular approach in software project management are introduced and are related to the achievements of the GNU/Linux project as a whole, as well as to the outcomes of some of its sub-projects. It is suggested that mindful implementation of the principles of modularity may improve the rate of success of many Free/Open Source software projects. Specific case studies here depicted, as well as indirect observation of common programming practices employed by Free/Open Source developers and users, suggest a possible revision towards an improved theory of modularity that may be extended also to settings different from software production.
Oxford University Press eBooks, Nov 29, 2001
Organizational and managerial theories of modularity applied to the design and production of comp... more Organizational and managerial theories of modularity applied to the design and production of complex artifacts are used to interpret the rise and success of Free/Open Source Software methodologies and practices in software engineering. Strengths and risks of the adoption of a modular approach in software project management are introduced and are related to the achievements of the GNU/Linux project as a whole, as well as to the outcomes of some of its sub-projects. It is suggested that mindful implementation of the principles of modularity may improve the rate of success of many Free/Open Source software projects. Specific case studies here depicted, as well as indirect observation of common programming practices employed by Free/Open Source developers and users, suggest a possible revision towards an improved theory of modularity that may be extended also to settings different from software production.
The Role of Modularity in Free/Open Source Software Development
IGI Global eBooks, 2008
Software design and development in Free/Open Source projects are analyzed through the lens of the... more Software design and development in Free/Open Source projects are analyzed through the lens of the theory of modularity applied to complex systems. We show that both the architecture of the artifacts (software) and the organization of the projects benefited from the paradigm of modularity in an original and effective manner. In particular, our analysis on empirical evidence suggests that three main shortcuts to modular design have been introduced and effectively applied. First, some successful projects inherited previously existing modular architecture, rather than designing new modular systems from scratch. Second, popular modular systems, like GNU/Linux kernel, evolved from an initial integrated structure through a process of evolutionary adaptation. Third, the development of modular software took advantage of the violation of one fundamental rule of modularity, that is, information hiding. Through these three routines, the projects can exploit the benefits of modularity, such as concurrent engineering, division of labor, decentralized and parallel development; at the same time, these routines lessen some of the problems posed by the design of modular architectures, namely imperfect decompositions of interdependent components. Implications and extensions of Free/Open Source projects experience are discussed in the conclusions.
CONFSL 2010 Atti della IV
INTRODUZIONE Con questa quarta edizione della ConfSL facciamo il punto sul Software Lib... more INTRODUZIONE Con questa quarta edizione della ConfSL facciamo il punto sul Software Libero in Italia, sulla sua diffusione nella PA, sulla produzione di prodotti e servizi basati su nuovi modelli di business e sullo stato delle comunità che ruotano intorno al Software Libero.
Learning by the experience of others: an experiment
Towards Resilient Organizations and Societies, 2021
Organizational resilience is traditionally associated with the ability to understand and to respo... more Organizational resilience is traditionally associated with the ability to understand and to respond to the ongoing situation, even under unusual conditions. The capability to detect novel and unexpected situations plays a fundamental role in this process. Following (Simon‚ 1991), we believe that decision premises affect the problem representation and, ultimately, the possibility to detect, interpret and respond to novel situations, thus enhancing resilience. From this perspective, the ability to expand the perceptual limits of observation and to conceive a novel representation of the problem requires revising the initial decision premises. This theory of how organizations learn how to solve novel problems provides the foundation to introduce a role designed to legitimately challenge the decision premises and, ultimately, the spectrum of alternatives that are taken into consideration as possible solutions. To illustrate our proposal to increase organizational resilience, we introduce...
Sinergie Italian Journal of Management, 2018
Obiettivo del paper: La letteratura che analizza come le organizzazioni affrontano i black swan t... more Obiettivo del paper: La letteratura che analizza come le organizzazioni affrontano i black swan tende a enfatizzare l'importanza di apprendere dall' esperienza, estendendo nel tempo il numero di casi che l' organizzazione è in grado di gestire. Questo paper propone un approccio radicalmente diverso e prevede che le organizzazioni possano affrontare gli eventi inattesi mentre si manifestano, invece di "sbiancarli" dopo che si sono manifestati. A tal fine le organizzazioni devono sviluppare un sistema di competenze che consenta loro di mettere in atto strategie differenti rispetto a quanto previsto dall' approccio tradizionale. Metodologia: Il lavoro inquadra gli studi manageriali sulla gestione delle emergenze rispetto al problema dei black swan utilizzando come prospettiva di analisi l' approccio comportamentale alle organizzazioni elaborato dalla Scuola di Carnegie. Risultati: La formulazione di due strategie e di un sistema di competenze che consentano al management di riconoscere e gestire gli eventi inattesi, senza ridurli ad eventi rischiosi. Limiti della ricerca: Il presente lavoro propone una concettualizzazione dei problemi delle imprese che gestiscono black swan, senza distinguere le specificità delle diverse situazioni decisionali. Implicazioni pratiche: Il paper identifica un sistema di competenze decisionali e organizzative, sviluppando le quali le imprese possono gestire situazioni black swan mentre accadono. Originalità del paper: Il lavoro si distingue dalla prevalente letteratura manageriale perché elabora una concettualizzazione della gestione dei black swan coerente con la natura ontologica di questi fenomeni.
Transactive knowledge from communities of practice to firms
European Journal of Innovation Management, 2017
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze to what extent and under which conditions R&D proj... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze to what extent and under which conditions R&D projects benefit from team members’ participation in spontaneous and work-related communities of practice (CoPs).Design/methodology/approachThis is a quantitative empirical study. R&D projects are the unit of analysis. Data are collected through interviews to 121 informants who are members of 60 R&D projects and participants in 195 CoPs.FindingsThe participation of project team members in work-related CoPs positively affects the R&D project performance. This positive effect applies also to radically innovative projects. The diversity in the institutional affiliation of CoPs members is also highly significant and positively correlated with the project performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper considers only work-related CoPs, thus neglecting the knowledge transacted through other types of CoPs.Practical implicationsPractitioners should support the autonomous participation of proj...
This article reports on a Writing in the Disciplines (WiD) intervention for first year undergradu... more This article reports on a Writing in the Disciplines (WiD) intervention for first year undergraduate physics (and joint Honours) students. A short (200-250 word) assignment was designed to maximise students' learning of specific scientific writing practices, including writing with appropriate clarity and academic style for a target audience, incorporating mathematical expressions in text, creating diagrams and referring to them in text, and appropriately using citing and referencing. Peer marking was employed to offer students formative feedback before they completed the assignment. The success of the assignment as a vehicle for student learning was evaluated by reviewing the students' submissions and marks awarded, and through ten students' reported focus group responses to the experience of carrying out the assignment, their reaction to peer marking, and their responses to the assessor's written and verbal feedback. The effectiveness of the assignment's content and process, and the peer marking, are briefly discussed, and suggestions made as to how to improve this or similar assignments in future years.
Tourism innovation: when interdependencies matter
Current Issues in Tourism, 2016
Modularity in Action: GNU/Linux and
3. Stations were installed increasingly far from local offices, increasing the time spent out of ... more 3. Stations were installed increasingly far from local offices, increasing the time spent out of the office itself.
Organizational and managerial theories of modularity applied to the design and production of comp... more Organizational and managerial theories of modularity applied to the design and production of complex artifacts are used to interpret the rise and success of Free/Open Source software methodologies and practices in software engineering. Strengths and risks of the adoption of a modular approach in software project management are introduced and are related to the achievements of various Free/Open Source Software projects (among them: the GNU operating system, the Linux kernel, the HURD kernel). It is suggested that mindful implementation of the principles of modularity may improve the rate of success of many Free/Open Source software projects. Specific case studies here depicted, as well as indirect observation of common programming practices employed by Free/Open Source developers and users, suggest a possible revision towards an improved theory of modularity that may be extended also to settings different from software production.
Msor Connections, Apr 1, 2013
The introduction of technology-enabled interactive problem solving sequences involving peer and c... more The introduction of technology-enabled interactive problem solving sequences involving peer and class-wide instruction in a Mathematics for scientists module is presented. While traditional chalk-and-talk is mainly used in lecturing, the combined use of an electronic audience response system and a digital pen-and-pad visualiser in problem classes leads to increased student engagement and interaction, in an informal and occasionally playful setting. This provides an opportunity for the lecturer to provide immediate targeted formative feedback that points the students to the fundamental concepts underlying the exercises.
Playstation and the Power of Unexpected Consequences
Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 1369118032000163286, Jun 24, 2010
Abstract It has been suggested that research business strategy is like studying specimens on a wa... more Abstract It has been suggested that research business strategy is like studying specimens on a wall. By examining successful stories, one can easily identify the strategic factors responsible for such a success, and the greater the success, the more evident those factors are. ...
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Papers by Alessandro Narduzzo