Master’sDegreeinEconomiaeGestionedelleAziende

FinalThesis

ChangemanagementasthrivingforceinthecreationofSustainableValueintheItalianSMEs:thecaseofMEPS.p.A.

Supervisor Prof. Stefano Micelli

Assistant supervisor Prof. Michele Tamma Graduand Lorenzo Tam 866521 Academic Year 2018 / 2019

II

Iwishtoexpressmydeepestgratitudeto

ProfessorStefanoMicelliforacceptingtobemysupervisorandguidingthe

workfromthebeginningtotheend

Ms.MichelaDelFabroforwelcomingmeintothecompany,forheradmirable

passionandopen-mindedness

Dr.VitoRotondiforacceptingmeintothecompany,forhistrust,knowledge

andgreatmanagerialcompetence

Dr.AnnaPizzale,Mr.AndreaMarinoCerrato,Mr.ClaudioMiconifortheir

dedicationandempiricalcontribution

Myfamilyfortheconstantsupport

III

Index:

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..V

Chapter1.TheItalianSMEs:traitsandvalue-creation……………………………………………7

1.1 Distinctivefeatures…………………………………………………………………………………7

1.2 Market,strategyandtimeofentry………………………………………………………...15

1.3 Hiddenvisibility……………………………………………………………………………….…..20

1.4 Internationalcharacter…………………………………………………………………………22

1.5 Multidimensionalvalue………………………………………………………………………...25

1.5.1Sustainability-orientedinnovation………………………………………………..28

Chapter2.Managingchange………………………………………………………………………………….35

2.1Lewin’sUnfreeze–Move–Freezemodel………………………………………………35

2.2KolbandFrohman’sconsultationmodel………………………………………………..38

2.3Senge’sLearningOrganization……………………………………………………………..40

2.4Goldratt’sTheoryofConstraints………………………………………………………...…42

2.5TheEasternway:Kaizen………………………………………………………………………45

2.5.1Leanmanagement………………………………………………………………………..48

2.5.2Deming’sPDCAmodel………………………………………………………………….48

2.6Kotter’smodel…………………………………………………………………………………….52

Chapter3.Changeandsustainability:MEP………………………………………….………………65

3.1Researchmethodology.……………………………………………………………………….65

3.2MEP–distinctivefeatures……………………………………………………………….......69

3.2.1Marketstructure……………………………..……………………………………….….72

3.2.2Internationalcharacter……….……………………………………………………….76

3.2.3Empoweringpeople:theMEPBusinessSchool……………………………..80

3.3Sustainablechange:implementationandstrategicdirection………………...84

Conclusions………………………………………………………………………………………………………….95

IV

Appendix………………………………………………………………………………………………………………97

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………………….126

V

Introduction

Organizationstodayfacehighlevelsofuncertaintyandcomplexitywithinthe

environmenttheyoperatein.Notonlyhavetheoldwaysofdoingbusinessbecome

obsolete,shapedbytheincreasingcompetition,butthedeeptransformationstheworld

isundergoingdictatetheurgencyfororganizationstorespondtonewneeds.

Factorssuchasglobalization,liberalization,deregulation,marketcompetitionand

generallytheVUCA(Volatility,Uncertainty,ComplexityandAmbiguity)oftheexternal

environmenthaveimproveddrasticallyoverthepastdecades,impactingbusinesses

worldwide.TheItalianSMEs(SmallandMedium-sizedEnterprises)–especiallythe

onesdisplayingastronginternationalcharacter-havetobeartheweightofsuchglobal

transformationsaswellasthefurtherexacerbationoftheinternationalscenario

becauseoftheissuesofscarcityofresources,pollutingemissions,environmental

preservationandsocialwell-being.Thekeytonotonlysurvivebutexcelonthemarket

isrepresentedbytheabilitytoadapt,reorganizeandchangeinternally,inordertoface

thethreatsandtransformthemintoopportunities,guaranteeingfirm-level

sustainabilityovertimethroughthecreationofsustainablevalue(economic,butalso

socialandenvironmental).

BytakingtheItalianmedium-sizedcompanyintoconsideration,thisworkaimsat

investigatingwhetherthesecompanies’businessmodel,placedalongsidethe

implementationoforganizationalchangeprocessesthroughchangemanagement

modelsandtheory,candrivethemtowardssustainablesuccess.Todoso,acasestudyis

analyzed:anItalianmedium-sizedchampionoperatingintheheavyindustrial

machineryindustry.

ThefirstchapterhastheaimofdescribingthedistinctivetraitsoftheItalianmedium-

sizedcompanyanditsmanagementmodel,whereasinchaptertwoanin-depthanalysis

oftheavailablechangemanagementmodelsaimedatimplementinganinternal

transformationprocessisconducted.Chapterthreehastheobjectiveofprovidingproof

ofthefactthatorganizationalchangeunderseveralperspectivescanindeedrepresent

theengineforthecreationofsustainablevalueandfirmlongevity.Theempirical

analysiswasconductedthroughanon-siteinternship,whichallowedforthegathering

ofrelevantdataandinformationthroughavarietyofsources(documents,archival

records,directunstructuredinterviews),aswellasthedirectactiveobservationofthe

VI

internalstructure,flows,processes,activitiesandculture.

Themedium-sizedcompanytakenasreferencedisplaysavarietyofdistinctivefeatures

thathaveallowedittosurviveonthemarket,fromtheveryfirstyearofactivityinthe

latenineteen-sixties,allthewaytothefirstdecadeofthetwenty-firstcentury.This

workarguesthatthechangeintheglobaleconomicparadigmthattookplaceinrecent

yearshastobefacedthroughadaptation,vision,transformation,competenceand

ultimatelymanagement.

7

Chapter1:TheItalianSMEs:traitsandvalue-creation

1.1 DistinctivefeaturesSMEs(SmallandMedium-sizedEnterprises)representaverylargeproportionofthe

economicfabricinmanycountries.Thesefirmshavedevelopedauniquemanagement

modelovertheyears,gainingtheattentionofthemanagementliteratureinrecent

times.

HermannSimoncoinedtheexpression“HiddenChampion”todescribeGerman

medium-sizedfirms,LuigiSeriocallsItalianmedium-sizedenterprises“medie

eccellenti”.SMEsareundermanyaspectsdifferenttolargecompanies.Theydon’t

benefitfromheavyeconomiesofscale,theysufferlessefficiency,theydon’treachthose

bignumbers.However,theynotonlysurviveonthemarket,buttheystandout,showing

ahighlycompetitivecharacterbasedonknowledge,competence,responsivenessand

innovation.

Althoughtheexpression“HiddenChampions”wasfirstattributedtothecompanies

composingtheGermaneconomicfabric,ithassincebecomemoreversatile,andithas

beenadaptedandusedtoidentifyfirmscharacterizedbysomecommonqualities.Luigi

Serio(2017)referstotheItalianenterprisefabric,whoseentitiesareeasilycomparable

tohiddenchampions.Simonhimselfstatesthat“suchcompanies[are]inalmostevery

partoftheworld[…]”(Simon,1996).Managementliteraturehasfocusedonlarge

companiesandcorporationsforyears,withlittleifanyconsiderationforthesmalland

medium-sizedenterprisesoftheworld.Thereasonforthatcanbetracedbacktothe

factthattheAmericancompanywastheonetakenasreference:forreasonssuchas

marketsize,demandandtechnologicalleadershiptheAmericanfirmswerethefirst

onestoreachlargedimensionsbytheendofthe19thcentury,startingfromsectorssuch

machineryproduction,electricity,chemicals,thankstotransformationsderivingfrom

innovationssuchassteamengine,railroads,telegraphandtelephone(Amatori&Colli,

2011).

InhisbookHiddenChampions–Lessonsfrom500oftheWorld’sBestUnknown

Companies,Simonidentifiestheprerogativesofthehiddenchampions(Simon,1996):

• theyareleaders(orcloseenoughtomarketleadership)intheworldmarket;

• theirsalesrevenueislessthanonebillionUSD,whichmeansthattheyarenot

“large”;rather,theyareeithersmallor(moreoften)medium-sized.Serio(2017),

8

whileanalyzingItalianmedium-sizedenterprises,referstodifferentnumbers,

indicatingaturnoverbetween16and355million€(Mediobanca-Unioncamere);

• theyarehidden,whichreferstothefactthattheydonothaveahighprofileor

publicvisibility;thischaracteristiccanbedependentonthekindofmarketthey

operatein:smallniches.

Asfarasmarketleadershipisconcerned,itistruethatitusuallyreferstothemarket

share.However,itsmeaningoftengoesbeyondthat,includingsomeothercriteria;

leadershipcanbemeasuredthroughsalesrevenue,soldunits(productsorservices),

technology,aswellascriteriasuchasqualitylevel,servitization,presenceintheglobal

market,product/processinnovation,marketinfluenceandtrend-setting;market

leadershipbecomesamorecomplexandarticulateddefinition,exceedingthe

boundariesofthemeremarketshare.Simonidentifiesmarketleadershipasthemain

goalofahiddenchampion,andherecognizestheimportanceofalongterm-oriented

viewasopposedtoquickshort-termresults;amoredetailedanalysisonhowtoreacha

predeterminedgoalwillbedefinedinchaptertwo,throughthedescriptionofvarious

changemanagementmodelsandtheirevolutionandinfluencesovertime.

LuigiSerio(2017),inhisanalysis,identifiesseveralfactorsthatseemtobepeculiarand

commonamongmedium-sizedItalianenterprises,startingfromthegovernance

structure:theyarebylargefamily-owned.Thefoundingfamilyisstillwithinthe

organizationtoacertaindegree.Insomecasesitremainsintotalcontrolofownership

withoutplayinganactivemanagerialroleotherthanthestrategicdecision-makingat

thetoplevel;inothers,especiallyinthesmallerfirms,familymembersactuallyhavea

well-definedlower-managementpositionandtheyareinvolvedinday-to-day

operationsanddecision-making,sothattheclearboundariesbetweenfamilymembers

andprofessionals/managerstendtoblur.Inmedium-sizedenterprisesthereisastrong

managerialpresence:managingthecomplexityanduncertaintyofdoingbusinessthese

dayshasbecomesuch,thattheknowledgeandcompetencerequiredcannotderivefrom

passionnorexperiencealone.Professionalfiguresarenecessary,managerswith

acquiredknowledgewhoarebetterqualifiedtomanageacompanythatstartedsmallat

thebeginningbutgrewbiggerandmorecomplexovertheyears.However,the

peculiarityofthesecompaniesisthattheycanhardlybecomparedtothebigmanagerial

firm.Thefamilyremainscrucialtoguidetheorganizationandmaintaintheveryspecific

setofvaluesthecompanywasfoundedoninthefirstplace,ortomaintainkey

9

relationshipswithlong-standingclients,partnersorotherstakeholders.Theoverall

strategicdirectionofthefirmisledbythefamily,whosemembersareusuallythe

President,theVice-presidentoreventheCEO(ChiefExecutiveOfficer).Management,on

theotherhand,hastheautonomyandauthoritytorunthecompany,oncetheguidelines

havebeendefined.Bothfamilyandmanagementinteractprofuselyatdifferentlevels,

creatingasharedanduniquesetofprinciplesrepresentingthesubstratumonwhichto

runthecompany(Varaldo,Dalli,Resciniti,&Tunisini,2009).Fromapracticalpointof

view,thetruecommongroundisfoundinthebusinessplan,wheregeneralguidelines,

strategicgoalsandplanofactionmeet.

Anotherimportantcommonalityisrepresentedbythemanagementofhuman

resources,whichentirelydiffersfromthetypeofmanagementadoptedinbigfirms:the

typeofrelationshipestablishedbetweentoplevelsandworkers,especiallybetween

foundingfamilyandemployees,isdirectandpersonal,andtheHRmanagementattitude

isadhocforeachindividual,ratherthanuniversal(Boldizzoni&Serio,2011).Peopleare

oftenseenasthetrueandultimatedriverofvaluecreation,andtheyaretreated

accordingly.Thatiswhyanotherimportantfactoriseducation,representingavery

consistentinvestment.Manyfirmshaveanactualinternalcorporateschooloracademy,

whereagreatvarietyofcoursesareorganized,rangingfrommanagerialdisciplinesto

moretechnicalandoperationalmatters.Softskillsaredeveloped,too.Thefinalaim,

apartfromhardskillsorcompetencies-strengtheningpurposes,istobringtogetherthe

workers’interestsandthecompany’sobjectives.Furthermore,sinceemployees’

personalwell-beingisindirectproportionwiththeirmotivation,performanceand

productivityonthejob,apositiveinfluenceandanempowermentoftheindividualona

personalscalethrougheducationmightbringbigimprovementsinthework

environment,too.People–especiallylowermanagement-arethereforeoften

empowered,theyhaveagooddegreeofautonomyandasomewhatdirectrelationship

withthecompany’shigherlevels;thesecharacteristicshaveanimportantimplication:

peopleareheldaccountablefortheiractions,forbothmistakesandmerit.Itisvery

importanttonotethatallthisleadstoacriticalaspectrepresentedbythedegreeto

whichapersonisreplaceable,meaningthatthereisaveryfinelinebetweenaperson

beingvaluableandthatsamepersonbeingirreplaceable.Fromanorganizational

perspective,irreplaceableresourcesareverydifficulttomanage,forreasonssuchas

strongdependencyontheirwork,health,performance,satisfactionandtheirstrong

10

bargainingpowerwithcolleagues,superiorsandeventopmanagement.Furthermore,

irreplaceabilityisusuallycreatedovertime,meaningthattheseresources,havingbeen

inthecompanyforseveralyearsandevendecades,arecloselylinkedtoanoldviewof

work,doingbusiness,conceivingtheorganizationalculture.Whenbeinginan

organizationwheretheroleofpeopleisthekeytovalue-creation,withinan

environmentthatrequiresquickadaptationandconstantchange,thistraditional

approachrevealsitselftobeinsufficientandevenobsolete.Therisktheorganization

faceswhendealingwithaconsistentnumberofirreplaceableresources,apartfromthe

criticalissuesofagingworkforce,knowledgetransfertoyoungergenerationsand

employeeturnover,istoincurintheso-calledcompetencytrap.Oftenusedwithinthe

managementliteratureoflearningorganizations,whereorganizationsareseenas

experimentallearningsystems(Lant&Mezias,1992),theexpressioncompetencytrap

indicatesanorganization’slossofcapabilitytoeitherexploitexistingknowledgeor

explorenewknowledge,thefirstbeingthemostcommononeinincumbentsorfirms

leadingthemarket.Thecompetencytrapleadsanorganizationdeeperanddeeperinto

theinabilitytoexplorenewknowledgethatisdifferentthanthepreviousone,relyingon

pastexperienceexclusively(Liu,2006).Inthelearningorganizationframework,itisthe

capabilitytolearnandexplorenewknowledge,besidestheexploitationofconsolidated

knowledgederivedfromexperience,thatgeneratestechnical,marketing,managerial

andstrategicdynamiccapabilitiestosustainandevenincreasecompetitive

performanceovertime(March,1991).Inrelationtothehumanresources,theso-

createdcompetencytrapmakesanorganizationbestuck–ortrapped-initsoldways,

withnounderstanding,desireorwillonbehalfofmanagementtochangeandevolve.

Anotherdistinguishingfeatureisrepresentedbythestrongorientationtowards

innovation,notonlyfromatechnologicalperspective,butalsointermsofcapabilityto

offerintegratedandcomplexsolutionstorespondtothemarket.Whentalkingabout

innovation,itiscrucialtomakesomeimportantdistinctions:productvsprocess

innovation,incrementalvsradicalinnovation,competence-enhancingvscompetence-

destroyinginnovation,architecturalvscomponentinnovation(Schilling,2013).The

reasonforthatisthatthesedifferenttypesofinnovationrequiredifferenttypesof

knowledgewithinanorganization.

Productinnovationreferstothenoveltyandimprovementsembodiedinacompany’s

output,whichcanbebothtangibleorintangible.Processinnovation,ontheotherhand,

11

referstotheimprovementofaparticularsetofactionsorstages,rangingfrom

productiontobusinessandmarketing;thiskindofinnovationusuallyhasthedirector

indirectconsequenceofincreasingefficiencyoreffectiveness.Productandprocess

innovationoftengohand-in-hand,meaningthatonecancauseorbetheconsequenceof

theotherandthataparticularproductinnovationforonefirmcanrepresentaprocess

innovationforanother.ThislastscenarioisparticularlytrueinBusiness2Business

markets,anexamplebeingtheindustrialmachineryindustry:anewinnovative

machine,outputofcompanyA(productinnovation),mostcertainlyrepresentsa

potentialprocessinnovationforcompanyB,thecustomer,usingthatmachinefor

production(processinnovation).

Anincrementalinnovationisdefinedasaninnovation“thatmakesarelativelyminor

changeoradjustmenttoexistingpractices”(Schilling,2013);Itisimprovement;it

potentiallygivesgreatbenefitsandreturns;butitisnotrevolutionary.Aradical

innovation,onthecontrary,canbedefinedas“new”and“different”;themorean

innovationrepresentsavariancefromexistingproducts,practices,technologies,the

moreitisradical(Daft&Becker,1978).Takingtheindustrialmachineryindustryasa

reference,amachinewithincreasedspeedandefficiencydefinitelyrepresentsan

incrementalinnovation,whereasanewnever-seen-beforemachinehastobeconsidered

aradicalchange.Aninnovationcanbedefinedasradicalinrelationtotheriskitentails,

too(Dewar&Dutton,1986):themoreradicaltheinnovation,themoreunknownthe

responseofcustomersandusers.Moreover,radicallynewproductsoftenrequirenew

complementarygoodsorservices,oftenprovidedbythirdactorswhoseadaptationor

speedofresponseisnotacertaintybyanymeans.

Acompetence-enhancinginnovationbuildsonalreadyexistingknowledge,leveraging

currentcompetencies.Acompetence-destroyinginnovation,ontheotherhand,makes

previousknowledgeandcompetenciesobsolete.Radicalandcompetence-destroying

innovationsaswellasincrementalandcompetence-enhancinginnovationsoftenoccur

intandem,buttheyarenotnecessarilyinterchangeable;withreferencetotheindustrial

machineryindustryonceagain,aradicallygame-changingproductmayactuallybuildon

anexistingknowledgebase(i.e.patent).

Lastbutnotleast,animportantdistinctionisbetweencomponent(ormodular)

innovationandarchitecturalinnovation.Manyproductsarecomposedofavarietyof

partsorcomponentsofasamesystem,andeachofthesesystemsisinturnpartofa

12

widersystem(Fleming&Sorenson,2003).Componentinnovationreferstoachangeor

improvementofanindividualcomponentormorecomponents,withouteffectingthe

overallcompositionofthebroadersystemthosecomponentsbelongto.Architectural

innovation,bycontrast,impliesachangeinthegeneralsystemconfiguration,without

affectingthesinglecomponentsthemselves;thatmeansthatchangeoccursinthe

mannerinwhichthecomponentsinteractamongthemselves(Henderson&Clark,

1990).Thereisalinkbetweenarchitectural,radicalandcompetence-destroying

innovationsaswellasbetweenmodular,incrementalandcompetence-enhancing

innovations,buttheyallrefertodifferentunderlayingkindsofinnovationthatcanoccur

simultaneously.Forinstance,itisnotdifficulttoimagineanincrementalinnovation

builtuponarchitecturalchanges.Thiscategorizationofdifferenttypesofinnovationis

veryflexible,sinceacertainchangehardlyeverfitsperfectlyonecategoryonly.

ThesourceofinnovationcanbefoundinResearchandDevelopment,whichisthemain

reasonSMEsusuallyinvestaconsistentshareoftheirrevenuesinit.Afterall,innovation

isgloballyoneofthemaindriversforcompaniestoobtainsustainableandprofitable

growthovertime(Fredberg,Elmquist,&Ollila,2008).

However,the“traditional”modelforinnovationisbeingaccompaniedmoreandmore

byamoreopenmodel,inwhichinnovationbecomesaninteractiveprocessinvolving

differentactorsbothinternalandexternal,inacontinuousexchangeofknowledgeand

flowofinformation(Quarantino,2011).Accordingtothisdefinition,innovationisnot

thefinaloutputoftheinternalR&Ddepartmentalone.Thereasonforthatcanbefound

intheimpactglobalizationhadandhasoneconomicprocessesworldwide.New

knowledgefromwhichinnovationarisesisseldomcreatedanddevelopedwithinthe

company’sboundariesalone.Rather,itisgeneratedbythevaluechaininitsentirety,

Product/Process Incremental/Radical

Competence enhancing/destroying Component/Architectural

Innovation

13

bothupstreamanddownstream,therebyincreasingthepoolfromwhichitderivesand

itsgrowthpotential,allowingittocirculatethroughcollaborations,partnershipsand

alliancesbetweenentitiessuchascustomers/users,suppliers,universities,research

institutes,partnersandevencompetitors.Theshifttoamoreopeninnovationmodel

requiresachangeinmentality,too.Thisisfarfromeasy,sincetheculturalprincipleof

self-reliance,accordingtowhichcontrolisthekeytoasuccessfulinnovation

(Chesbrough,2003),hastobeabandonedafterdecadesofapplication.Companies

shouldthereforeimplementaflexiblecorporateculture,opentoexternalcontamination

andinclinedtobothinter-functionalandinter-organizationalcooperation,adoptingan

organizationalmodelallowingthegovernanceoftherelationshipwithotheractorsand

institutions(Chiaromonte,2006).Valuecreationpassesthroughthedemocratizationof

theinnovationprocess,whichisextendedtoalltheaforementionedactors,employees

included.Thedifferenttypesofinnovationmanagementareshowninthematrixbelow:

BasedonFigure2A:“Amodelofopeninnovationalternatives”,ManagingOpenInnovation–Present

FindingsandFutureDirections

14

Themoretheinnovationprocessshiftstowardsamoreexternalsettingandthemore

thenumberofactorsshiftsfrom2(firm+internalR&D)toN,themorethecomplexity

increases,makingitessentialtoinvestincoordinationinordertogovernthenewly-

creatednetworkofrelationships.Inparticular,masscollaborationrepresentsthemost

complexscenario,inwhichamoreprofoundchangeoftheorganizationalmodelis

required:thequantityandvarietyoftheactorsinvolvedintheinnovationprocessand

theknowledgetransferimpliesachangeintheorganizationalstructure,culture,and

humancapital.Anewformamentisisnecessary(Fredberg,Elmquist,&Ollila,2008),of

bothmanagementandemployees.Thebiggestissuetoovercometosuccessfully

implementthegradualshifttowardsanopenbusinessmodelisthegovernanceofthe

differentlinksinthevaluechainandthenetworkofrelationships;othercriticalitiesare

representedbytheneedforamulticulturalcorporateandbusinessenvironment,

markettransactioncosts,corecompetenciesprotectionandrelationshipformalization

strategies,keepinginmindthatnewactorsmayhaveverydistantanddifferentbusiness

interestsandsystemsofvalues(Quarantino,2011).

Openinnovationmodelshavegrownrapidlyinthepastdecades,especiallyin

technology-basedsectors(Vanhanverbeke,Duysters,&Noorderhaven,2002).

Underthisperspective,firmandR&Dsizedoesnotmatteranymore;thetruekeyto

innovateistobebrainintensive,valuingthecapabilitytoconnecttoothersystemsand

tobeaplayerwithinanextendednetworkofactors,maintainingthemediumsizeand

itsflexibilityatthesametime(Uzzi&Spiro,2005).

Thisnewmodelmakesthecreationofnewvaluepossible.Throughthenewsocial

relationships,thefirmisabletogeneratereturnsaswellasaccessandexploitexternal

resources.Thenetworkitselfthereforebecomesagreatpoolofinformationon

availability,reputation,competenciesandreliabilityofthepotentialpartners(Gilsing&

Lemmens,2005).

15

1.2Market,strategyandtimeofentry

Itisimportanttodefinethemarket.Probablytheeasiestandmostusedwaytodescribe

acertainmarketisthetypeofproduct.Acompanyproducingheavyindustrial

machineryisintheindustrialmachinerymarket,thereisnodoubtaboutthat;however,

theproduct-baseddefinitionisnottheonlyonethereis.Thedefinitioncanbebasedon

competencesandtechnologyaswell.Anotherinterestingmarketdescriptionisgivenby

thefocusoncustomers’needs.Ifacompanyproducesrebar(reinforcingbar)bending

machines,itoperatesinthemarketofprovidingsolutionstobendrebars.Whichever

definitionischosen,onethingisclear:hiddenchampionsoperateinsmall,niche

markets,withaveryhighlevelofspecializationandarelativelysmallnumberof

competitors.Whenusingthedefinitionthatconsiderstheproduct,widevariationscan

derivefromthelevelsofbreadthanddepthoftheproductionrange.Thebreadthofthe

productlinereferstothevariationofoutput,whichmeansitreferstothenumberof

differentproductsproducedbythecompany;awiderangeofproductsrepresentsa

brightproductionline(ahighlevelofbreadth).Depth,ontheotherhand,signifiesthe

numberofvariantsofthesameproduct,orthedegreetowhichthecompanyisableto

meetthemarket’sneedsinitsentirety.Abroadfirmcanbeverysimilartoadeepfirm,

sincetheycanbothhaveanumberofverysimilarproducts;however,theproductline’s

structuredifferscompletely.Goingdeepermeansaddingcomplementaryproductsor

featurestothemainoutput,whereasgoingbroadermeansincreasingthelevelof

diversification:

16

BasedonFigure3.4:““Broad”versus“Deep”ApproachtoStrategy”,HiddenChampions-Lessonsfrom500

oftheWorld’sBestUnknownCompanies

Thehiddenchampionsseemtopreferthefocusedstrategy:thenarrownessofthe

markettheyoperatein(andlead)causesfirmstofocusondepth.Ononehand,this

allowsforaveryhighdegreeofspecializationanddeeplyrootedcompetences;onthe

other,thesecompaniesincurtheriskofoverspecialization,whichcanderivefromthe

completedependenceononemarket,thelossofleadershippositionduetostandard-

product-producersenteringthemarket,oracostincreaseduetothedifficultytoexploit

economiesofscale.Itbecomesclearthatthereisnoonebestway,andthechoice

betweenbreadthanddepthisfarfromeasy:

17

Figure:“Marketriskvscompetitiverisk”,HiddenChampions–Lessonsfrom500ofthetheworld’sbest

unknowncompanies

Asshowninthefigureabove,companiesadoptinganunfocusedstrategyfaceahigh

competitiverisk,whereascompaniesoptingforafocusedstrategyfaceahighmarket

risk.

Asmentionedbefore,HiddenChampionsarehidden,indeed,inthattheyusuallydon’t

boastgreatvisibility.Thereasonforthatcanbefoundinthefactthattheywereableto

buildastrongbrandovertheyears,wellknownonlytoactorsoperatinginthesameor

closeindustries,thereforenotneedingthatmarketingpush;orthankstofactorssuchas

firstmoveradvantagesorclose-to-monopolyenvironments.Althoughbeingthefirst

moverinthemarketoftenimpliescompetitiveadvantageoverotherfirms,management

researchyieldsconclusionsthatarequiteconflicting(Schilling,2013).Inordertogaina

deeperunderstandingofthecompetitivepositionandbrandplacementofagiven

company,itisveryusefultoanalyzeadvantagesanddisadvantagesofbeingafirst

moverornot.Itmayseemobviousthatacompanyintroducinganewproducttothe

worldmarketcanbenefitfromquitealong-lastingreputationinthatgivendomain;this

isespeciallytruewhentakingtechnology-basedortechnology-orientedproductsinto

consideration.Astrongreputationequalsastrongcompanyimageandaquickly-built

brandloyalty.Afirstmover’spositioncertainlycomparestoa–althoughtemporary–

18

monopoly,sincecustomers’expectationsabouttheproduct’sfeaturesandpricecanbe

shaped,notonlymonitored.Thefirstmoverbenefitsfromtechnologicalleadership,not

onlyforthefactthatthereisnoearlycompetition,butalsobecausewhenlateentrants

finallystarttoslowlysaturatethemarket,theabovetechnologywillbeprotectedby

patent,copyrightanddifficult-to-obtaincapabilities,makingimitationverydifficultto

attempt.

Assaidbefore,thetimeadvantageiskey,andmakesitpossibletobenefitfrom

monopolyrents,bothintheformofhigherreturnsandlowercosts.However,

technologicalleadershipcanhardlybeconsideredtheonlyadvantageafirstmovercan

enjoy.Asafirmadoptsamorefocusedstrategy,theproductionprocessbecomesmore

complex;apointwillbereachedeventuallyafterwhichoutsourcingpartoftheprocess

toexternalactors,asforinstancetheproductionofsemi-finishedgoods,isavery

rationalchoice.Clearly,therelationshipbetweenclientandsuppliertransforms,quickly

developingintoakeypartnership,wherethelevelofmutualdependenceincreases

proportionally.Thisscenariodescribingtherelationshipwithsuppliersperfectlyfits

intoanotherclassoffirstmoveradvantages:thepreemptionofscarceassets(Schilling,

2013).Othersimilarmonopoly-rent-creatingfactorsmayincludemakingsuretobethe

firstonetoobtainresourcesthatarenon-abundant,askeydistributionchannels,

locationsorspecificgovernmentpermits.Moreover,acrucialadvantageisrepresented

bytheexploitationofbuyerswitchingcosts(Boulding&Christen,2001).Thisadvantage

referstothecostthatariseswheneverabuyerchosestoswitchtoanothergood(or

anotherproducer);thiscostcanconsistofthecomplementsneededorofthetime

neededtogetacquaintedwiththenewproduct.Thisisespeciallytrueintechnology-

basedindustries,whereittakesalotoftimeandefforttogettoknowasimilaryet

differentproduct.Theexistenceofswitchingcostsevendiscouragestheadoptionof

products/technologiesthatarebetterthantheonethatisbeingused.Inotherwords,

thesumofthevalueofthecurrenttechnologyandtheswitchingcostmustbeinferiorto

thevalueofthenewtechnology,inorderfortheusertoactuallyswitch.Itistherefore

clearthatforanewproducttobepreferredtoanexistingone,itcannotsimplybe

better;ithastobemuchbetter.Fromhereitisnotdifficulttoderivethestrategic

picture:competitiveadvantageismaintainedwheneverafirmisabletokeepthe

switchingcostshighenoughtomakeusers/customerspreferthecurrentproduct

insteadofthenewone.

19

Lastbutnotleast,thefirstmovercanexploitincreasingreturnstoadoption.Themorea

technologyoritsphysicalapplicationisadopted,themoreinformationanduser

feedbackcanbegatheredtoimprovetheproductitself;furthermore,beingthefirstto

enterthemarketoftenguaranteeshighinitialrevenues,whichcanthenbeinvestedin

furtherimprovementoftheproduct.Themoreatechnologicalproductisadopted,the

moreitscreatedvaluefortheproducerincreases,alsothankstothebeneficialeffectsof

apositivelearningcurveandexperiencecurve(Boulding&Christen,2001),whichcan

derivefromanincreasedefficiencyoftheproductionprocess,forinstance.The

increasedknowledgeresultingfromthelearningprocessgeneratesinturnavery

dynamiccapability:theabsorptivecapacity.Afirm’spreviousexperienceallowsfora

capacitytorecognizeandvaluenewlyacquiredknowledgeanduseittooptimizethe

developmentofcurrentproducts,differentproductsandcomplementarygoods.

Theadoptionofaparticularproductmeansthegrowthoftheinstalledbase,whichisthe

numberofconsumersusingit.Thankstotheaforementionedincreasingreturnsto

adoption,theR&Dactivityfinancedbysalesrevenuesisabletoproducecomplementary

goods,causingtheshifttowardsadeeper,focusedstrategy.Obviously,alargeinstalled

baseattractsnewactorsproducingcomplementarygoods,too,stimulatingmarket

competition;asmuchasnewcompetitionmeansthelossofmonopolyrentsanda

decreaseinthecomplementarygoodsmarketshare,italsofurtherstimulatesthe

growthoftheinstalledbase,inaself-reinforcingcycledepictedbelow:

BasedonFigure4.2:“TheSelf-ReinforcingCycleofInstalledBaseandAvailabilityofComplementary

Goods”,StrategicManagementofTechnologicalInnovation

20

Thereare,ofcourse,disadvantagesofbeingfirstmovers.Thefirstdisadvantagethat

comestomindisthefactthatpioneershavetofacehighResearch&Developmentcosts,

notonlyforthedevelopmentofthenewproduct,butalsoforthedevelopmentof

technologicalalternativesthatultimatelydidnotleadtosuccessandcommercial

employment.Thistypeofburdenalsoincludesinitialinvestmentsinproductionaswell

asincomplementarygoods.Inmanycasesthesetypesofexpensesdonothavetobe

shoulderedbylaterentrants,whocanthereforechanneltheireffortandresources

withouthavingtobeartheriskofthetrialanderrorprocess(Boulding&Christen,

2001).

Anotherdisadvantageisrepresentedbythepossiblelackofenablingtechnologies;those

technologiesarecrucialfortherealizationofthefinalproduct,andyettheproducer

doesnothavetheknowledgeandcompetenciestodevelopsuchenablersinternally.

Anotherburdentocarryisrepresentedbytheimmaturityofcomplementarygoods:

electriccarsneedcharging-stationnetworks,industrialautomaticheavymachinery

needssoftwareandanadequateelectricityconsumptioncapacity.

Lastbutnotleast,afirstmovermayfaceaveryhighlevelofuncertaintyaboutconsumer

preferencesandrequirements;thisinformationalgapusuallyleadstoaninvestmentof

timeandresourceslaterentrantsmaynothavetobear.

1.3Hiddenvisibility

ItistruethattheseB2BSMEsarepredominantlyhidden.However,asmentionedbefore,

theyrelyonastrongbrandnevertheless,asoneofthemainadvantagesofbeingthefirst

companyonthemarket.However,thisprivilegedpositioncanbecomeonerous,even

unsustainableoverthelongrun.Competitiveadvantageneedstobemaintainedeven

againstthenewactors’lowerprices,andeffectivecommunicationoftheproduct

superiorityliketechnology,quality,serviceorexperiencebecomesamusthave.

Infact,onecouldevenarguethatcommunicationishelpfulonlywhenitentailstheright

message,whichcannotbebasedontheproduct’sfeaturesexclusively.Especiallyinthe

BusinesstoBusinessindustry,themistakemanyfirmsmakeisthefactthatthe

communicatedmessagefailstogobeyondmatterslikequality,price,efficiencyofafter-

salesservices(DiMase&Agostini,2019).Itissometimesusefultofocusonother

importantmattersaswell,notnecessarilystrictlyrelatedtothemainusethefinal

consumermakes;forinstance,mattersofsecurityandworksafety.Thisisespeciallythe

21

casewhencustomersarestructuredandcomplexbusinesses,inwhichthepurchasing

processissubjectedtotheapprovalofmorethanonedecisionmaker,notonlythe

purchasingmanager.Onthatnote,theprofessionalfigureoftheHSE(Health,Safetyand

Environment)managerisbecomingmoreandmoreimportantwithinbothB2CandB2B

companies;whatthatmeansisthatononehandcompanies’andfinalconsumers’

awarenessandsensitivitytosocialaswellasenvironmentalsustainabilitymattershave

drasticallyincreased,andontheotherthatsustainabilitylawsandregulationshave

becomestricterinthevastmajorityofcountries;notsurprisingly,newexigencies

derivedfromchangesintheregulatoryframeworkcausebusinessestoshifttoother

productsandpossiblyothersuppliersabletomeettheirneeds(Kotler&Pfoertsch,

2008).Attentiontotheenvironment,safetyofworkersandhealthofconsumersand

societyatlargethereforerepresentapowerfulandeffectivemessagetobesenttothe

openworld.However,theriskofengaginginemptyandmeaninglesscommunicationis

thereiffirms’activitiesdonotactuallyreflectwhattheystatetheydoorbelievein.

Fromtheoppositeperspective,averysimilarmistakewouldbetoengageinvirtuous

behaviorandactivitieswithoutshowingit,thereforenotbenefittingfromthepotential

returns.

Thedigitalrevolutionwasdefinitelyaturningpointincompanies’value-creating

activitiesalongPorter’sprimaryandsupportingvaluechainactivities(PorterM.E.,

1985),Marketingsurelybeingoneofthem(DiMase&Agostini,2019).Apartfromthe

directconsequenceofbeingabletoaccessanduseeffectiveandquickdigitalmarketing

instrumentsonaverylargescale-evenforthosewhodidnothaveawell-defined

marketingstrategy(DiMase&Agostini,2019)-therevolutionmeantthatthequantity

ofinformationavailabletobothconsumerandbusinesseshasincreasedexponentially,

toanumbersohighthattheaverageattentionleveltosingleinformationhasinevitably

dropped.Insuchascenario,companiesfailingtorecognizethedangersofbeingleftout

orgettingmixedupwithalltheotheractorsaregoingtobeinvisibletoconsumers,have

littlebrandawarenessandaclose-to-zerobrandequity(DiMase&Agostini,2019);from

here,isitfarfromdifficulttoimaginehoweasyitisnotonlytolosegroundto

competition,butalsocompletelydisappearfromthemarket.

Implementingamarketingstrategyallowscompaniestosurviveinthemarket;ifitis

welldefined,triedoutandputintopracticesuccessfully,itcanmakethemmarket

leaders.EvenintheBusinesstoBusinessrealm,incompaniesthathistoricallyarenot

22

marketing-driven,externalcommunicationhasbecomeoneofthemaindriversto

attractnewcustomers,keepexistingcustomers(brandloyalty),maintainthebrand

identityandultimatelygeneratereturnsoninvestment.

1.4Internationalcharacter

BoththehiddenchampionsidentifiedbyHermannSimonandtheSMEsdescribedby

LuigiSerioshareanimportantcommonality.Thesecompanies’presenceon

internationalmarketsisquiterelevant:morethan70%oftheirrevenuesderivesfrom

salesinforeigncountries(Serio,LaNuovaBorghesiaProduttiva.UnModelloperil

CapitalismoItaliano,2015);thepercentageeasilyreaches90%ormoreinmanycases.

Theadoptedstrategyisusuallydirectexport,identifyingthemaintendencytodirectly

controlthedistributionchannels.Thismeansthatallthemainactivitiesofthevalue

chainareconductedinItaly,wheretheheadquartersislocated,whereastheperipheral

entitiessupplyproductsandservices(Serio,MedieEccellenti,2017).Althoughthisisthe

mainapproachSMEsadoptinforeignmarkets,itneedstobesaidthatitisnottheonly

possibleone,especiallywhentakingintoconsiderationbigcompanies,too.Different

strategicapproachesderivefromdifferentstrategicrequirements,whichinturnare

determinedbythetypeofindustrytakenasareference.

Intheso-calledglobalindustries(Bartlett&Ghoshal,1987),theexternalenvironmentis

characterizedbyproductsortechnologieschanginginanincrementalmanner,rather

thanradically;nationalmarketsarequitehomogeneous,protectionistbarriersand

transportationcostsarelow,thereisaglobalandsomewhathomogeneousdemandfor

acertaintypeofproduct.Undertheseconditionshighlevelsofefficiencyarepossible,

allowingtheexploitationoflargeeconomiesofscale.

Inmultinationalindustries,ontheotherhand,worldwidemarketsarecharacterizedby

lowerlevelsofhomogeneityindemandandconsumerpreferences;thisinevitably

requiresalocaldifferentiationapproachtostrategy,enablingbusinessestomeetlocal

needsandadopttolocalcultures,habits,traditions,and–wheretheselastfactorsdo

nothaveabigimpact–nationalorinternationalregulationsandrestrictions.Inthis

scenario,alsoreferredtoasmultidomesticindustryrequiringacountry-by-country

approach(Pontiggia,2016),foreignsubsidiariesareboundtohavemoreautonomyand

lessdependencyfromthedecision-makinganddirectionsofthehomecountry

23

headquarters.Businessesareonlysuccessfulwhenguidedbystrongresponsivenessand

adaptationcapabilities.

BartlettandGhoshalalsoidentifytheso-calledinternationalstrategy,wherethekeyto

successliesinthecapabilitytotransferknowledgetooverseasandforeignsubsidiaries

orpartners;thiscanberepresentedbytheabilitytospreadaparticularinnovation,

know-howortechnologydevelopedinthehomecountryacrossnationalborders;this

way,productandprocessqualitycanbemaintainedandreplicatedworldwide;efficient

andeffectiveknowledgeandkeycompetenciestransferspavethewayforthe

exploitationoflearningeconomies(Barlett&Ghoshal,1987).Needlesstosay,this

approachisdesirableinknowledge-basedindustries,werethefinalproductionof

outputentailstacitknowledgetoahighdegreeaswellastechnicalandtechnological

complexity.SuchindustriesareusuallyguidedbybigR&Dinvestments;sincethe

ResearchandDevelopmentdivisionisquiteoftenlocatedclosetothehomecountry

facilitiesmakingitnoteasilyaccessibleoutsidethecompanybarriers,theabilityto

transferkeyR&Dknowledgetothedesiredactorsworldwidemayrepresentan

importantsourceoflong-lastingcompetitiveadvantage.

Inreality,itneedstobesaid,itisquitedifficulttoimposeastrictcategorizationtofirms

andthemarketstheyoperatein.Thetruthisthatwhilesuchcategoriesmaydepict

approachesandexternalenvironmentfittingthelastdecadesofthe20thcentury,they

arejusttoosimplistictoday.Complexityanduncertaintyhaveincreasedoverthelast

decades,butsohavemarketsizeandopportunity.Manyfirmshaveprogressively

movedtothetransnationalstrategy,developinganewsetofcapabilities,constantly

tryingtoovercomethemodelofthepuretextbookglobal,multinationalorinternational

company,aimingforefficiency,responsivenessandlearningcapabilitiessimultaneously.

Basically,acompanytodaycanpresenteconomiesofscaleandstandardizedproducts,

responsivenesstothenewrequirementsofforeignmarketsaswellasknowledge

transfersandlearningeconomiesallatonce,followingtheprinciple:standardize

wheneverpossible,adaptwhennecessary.Whileononehandthismakesitaverydifficult

jobtomanagesuchcorporatecomplexity,ontheotheritpavesthewayforgrowthona

globalscale.

SMEstoohaveadaptedtothechangesrequiredfromaglobaleconomy,becomingde

facto“pocketmultinationals”.Foreignsubsidiariesorpartnersquiterigorouslyfollow

theheadquarters’guidelines,specializinginsalesandservices;someofthemcanbe

24

definedtransnationalsatellites,sincetheydoadapttothecharacteristicsoflocal

marketsintermsofcustomerrelationshipandmarketrequirements(Ghoshal,2009).

Foreignentitiesareoftenrepresentedbyagentsordistributors;insomecasestheyare

partners,inotherstheyareactualdelocalizedwholly-ownedsubsidiaries(Serio,Medie

Eccellenti,2017);theorganizationalstructureofthesechampionsisthereforequite

simple:thecentralroleisplayedbythe“mothercompany”controllingitssubsidiaries

(Colli,2010).

Presenceinforeignmarkets,continuousinnovation,qualityofproductsandservicesare

themainvalue-creatingfactorsforsuchfirms;otherprerogativesincludethedirect

presenceoftheentrepreneurandotherfamilymembersinsidetheorganization,a

highlyspecializedworkforcerepresentingtheprimarysourceofinnovationthanksto

thecontinuousinteractionwithcustomersandsuppliers,andhighlevelsof

specializationofproductionassociatedtoastrongbusinessstrategy,whichguarantees

dominanceofnichemarkets(Serio,MedieEccellenti,2017).Theyareoftenthemain

actorsinthesupplychain,beingthebiggestplayerswithinthenetworkofrelationships

theyoperatein.Suppliersareoftensmallerfirms,chosenbythe“leadingfirm”because

ofreasonslinkedtocompetence,knowledgeofthecounterparty’sneeds,trust

developedoveryearsofrelationship,geographicalproximity,qualityofthefinishedor

semi-finishedproductsupplied.Itistruethatsuchinternationalplayerswouldbe

expectedtosourcefrominternationalfirmsbelongingtoglobalvaluechains;however,

relationshipswithnationalandevenlocalsuppliersandpartnersoverthelongrun

broughttoaprogressiveandconsistentreductionoftheinformationalasymmetry

betweensupplierandcustomer,whichmeansthatthesimplesupplier-customer

relationshiphasbecomesomethingdifferent,closertoapartnership,wherethedegree

ofcoordination,interdependencyandtrustbetweenthepartiesissubstantial(Mancini,

1999).

25

1.5Multidimensionalvalue

Thecharacteristicsdescribedabovedepictaclearpictureofthesmallandmedium-

sizedenterprisesintheItalianeconomicfabric,withoutfailingtorecognizetheneedto

continuouslyengageinfindingsolutionstomeettheever-changingmarket

requirements.However,thisneedforchangemustbereadnotonlyfromapurely

economicperspective,andthecomplexityandturbulenceoftheexternalenvironment

causingthatchangedoesnotonlyregardfactorsaffectingeconomicsustainability,but

environmentalandsocialsustainabilityaswell.Factorssuchasclimatechange,scarcity

ofnaturalresources,increaseoftheglobalpopulationandpollutionaredeeplyaffecting

theglobeanditsfuturesurvivalperspectives,becomingtoallintentsandpurposesakey

orientationforthewayofconductingbusinessinorganizationsworldwide(Boons,

Montalvo,Quist,&Wagner,2013).Giventhatsmallandmedium-sizedenterprises

representmorethan80%ofallorganizationsglobally(Smallandmediumenterprise

outlook,2002),thattheyaccountformorethan70%oftheglobalproduction(O'Laoire

&Welford,1996)andthattheycausemorethanonethirdofglobalpollution(Weisner,

Chadee,&Best,2018),engagingintheimplementationoftheso-calledtriplebottomline

(Elkington,1997)–economic,environmentalandsocialsustainability–isarational

choicetomake,especiallywiththeexistenceofalinkbetweentheimplementationof

sociallyandenvironmentallysustainablepracticesandincreaseofeconomicand

financialperformance.Eventhoughthereisnowell-establishedconsensusonthewin-

winrelationshipbetweenthetwo(Albertini,2013),thereisevidenceofthefactthatthe

stimulustofacethesenewglobalchallengesimpliesaseriesofinternalorganizational

transformationsthathaveasaconsequencethedevelopmentofnewcapabilities,with

theeffectofefficiencyalongwithperformanceimprovements.Furthermore,byactively

engaginginenvironmentalsustainability,smallandmedium-sizedenterprisesintroduce

moreefficientwaysofconductingtheiractivities,reducecostsandempowerthehuman

capital,too(Weisner,Chadee,&Best,2018).Sustainabilityisdefinedasaneconomic

modelofdevelopmentabletomeettheneedsofthepresentgenerationandmaintain

theabilityforfuturegenerationstomeettheirownneeds(Development,1987).Itrefers

totheabilitytomaintaintheabilitytosatisfytheneedsofhumanityovertime,inthe

longrun.Sustainabilityisacomplexconcept,thatcanbereferredtomorethanone

domainonly;ithasamulti-dimensionalmeaning,incoherencewiththetriplebottom

26

line:

BasedonFigure1:“Sustainablevalue”,BusinessModelInnovationforSustainability:TowardsaUnified

PerspectiveforCreationofSustainableBusinessModels

Actually,itistheverymeaningoftheexistenceoffirmsandentrepreneurship.Firmsare

entitiescreatingaholisticandsharedvalue:forshareholders,stakeholders,employees,

societyatlarge(Porter&Kramer,2011),andshouldthereforeintegrateenvironmental

andsocialobjectivesintotheirmission(Schaltegger&Wagner,2011)andstrategy,

therebyinnovatingtheirbusinessmodelsaccordingly(Evans,etal.,2017).

Forreasonssuchasinnovationcapability,flexibilityandresponsiveness,smalland

medium-sizedenterprisesarewell-suitedtoengageinasustainabletransformation.The

relationshipbetweeninnovationandsustainability,aswellaswithlearningisstrong,

indeed;byintegratingsocialandenvironmentalinitiativesintotheirstrategySMEsare

goingtoincreasetheirlearningprocessandthereforetheopportunityforinnovation

(Moore&Manring,2009).

Therearedifferentattitudesoffirmsadoptingasustainablebehavior(Noci&Verganti,

1999):

Economic ValueProfit, Business stability,

Financial resilience, Long-term viability, return on investment

Environmental ValueRenewable resource, low

emissions, low waste, biodiversity, pollution

prevention

Social ValueEquity and diversity, well-

being, Community, Development, Labor standard, health and

safety

Sustainable Value

27

• aresistantapproachisadoptedbythoseSMEswhichdon’tpayanyattentionto

environmentalandsocialstimuliorpressures.

• areactiveapproachtosustainabilityimpliesareactiontoexternalfactorssuchas

environmentalregulationsorlocalpressures;however,thosereactionsdonnot

gobeyondcompliance,sincetherequiredadaptationsandchangesareseenas

additionalcosts.

• afirmadoptingananticipatorystrategy,instead,isabletoforeseeopportunities

derivingfromsocialandenvironmentalissuesandacttograspthemforfuture

competitiveadvantage.Theadoptionofsuchanapproachislargelydependenton

factorssuchastypeofmarket,product,sizeoftheSMEandwhetherthefirmis

anincumbentoranearlyfollowerinthemarket;thereasonforthatcanbefound

intheevidencethatincumbentfirms,whicharebydefinitionfirmswell-

establishedwithinthemarkettheycompetein,havetoovercomeagreater

resistanceininnovatingradically(e.g.completelynewproducts),andtheyare

therebymoreinclinedtoinnovateincrementally(Min,Kalwani,&Robinson,

2006).

• aproactivestrategywithregardstosustainability-orientedinnovationimplies

theacknowledgementonbehalfofthefirmthattheidentificationof

sustainabilityissuesrepresentsanopportunitytocreatecompetitiveadvantage;

theproactiveapproachinmanycasesderivesfromthedesireandbehaviorofthe

family,ownerortopmanagement,relyingonthefirm’sdynamiccapabilitiessuch

asflexibility(Aragon-Correa,Hurtado-Torres,Sharma,&Garcia-Morales,2008),

andcanbringthebenefitsofbeingfirstmoverswithinthemarket.

• Lastbutnotleast,asustainability-orientedinnovationisbasedontheexistence

ofabusinessmodeldeeplyrootedinsustainability,aswellasaveryopen

innovationstrategy,wheretheinteractionwithexternalinstitutionsandactorsis

strong.Innovationandsustainabilityarecombinedintoone,asdescribedbelow.

28

1.5.1Sustainability-orientedinnovation

Thereismorethanonetypeofsustainability-orientedinnovation(Klewitz&Hansen,

2014):process,organizationalandproductinnovation.

Process-levelinnovationreferstoalltheactivitieswithinthevaluechain,redesignedto

produceproductsorservicesreducingtheuseofresourcesandmanageside-outputs

likewasteorhazardousmaterialsinanefficientmanner,atthesametime.Thiskindof

innovationoftenreferstoproductionpractices;twomainconceptsareidentifiable:

cleanerproductionreferstotheapplicationofanintegratedandpreventive

environmentalstrategytoprocesses(andproductsandservices,too),inorderto

improvetheirgeneralefficiency,reducingtherisktohumansandenvironment

(ChangingProductionPatterns:LearningfromtheExperienceofNationalCleaner

ProductionCentres,2002).Cleanerproductionhastheobjectiveofachievingand

environmentally-orientedmindsettomanagementwithintheorganization,thereby

reducingresourceuse.Inorganizationswhereacontinuousimprovementapproachis

alreadyinplace,continuousenvironmentalimprovementiseasiertoimplement,since

therightmindsetandtherightresourceconsiderationsmighthavealreadybeen

achieved(Berkel,2007).Thetermeco-efficiencypartiallyoverlapswithcleaner

production,butitentailsaslightlydifferentmeaning:itputsmoreemphasisonthe

economicbenefitsderivingfromamoreenvironmentallysustainableapproach(Cote,

Booth,&Louis,2006),stressingthefactthatenvironmentalperformanceandeconomic

performancecanbecombinedinordertoreducingnegativeenvironmentalimpactsand

createeconomicvalue,simultaneously.Eco-efficiencyincludesmeasuressuchasa

reductionintheuseofmaterials,changesintheorganizationalprocedures,disposalof

inefficientresources,eliminationofinefficientpracticesorprojectsdevelopedinsidethe

firmwiththespecificaimofenergy-saving,forinstance.Apartfromtheproduction

process,alsologisticsentailssustainableinnovationpotential:thetransportation

networkefficiencycanbeimproved;achangeinthetransportationmodalitiesandthe

distributionchannelscanoccur,aswellasaredesignofthepackagingsystem

(Kirkwood&Walton,2010).Sustainableprocessinnovationincreasesfirms’chancesof

gaininganewcompetitivepositionagainstnon-innovatingcompetition,anditallowsto

spreadsustainablepracticesalongthewholevaluechain.

Organizationalinnovationreferstoabroadertypeofapproachtowardssustainability,

oftenidentifiedbyenvironmentalmanagementsystems(EMS),themostusedofwhich

29

istheISO14001standard(Bos-Brouwers,2010).However,thebetterperformingSMEs

areusuallytheonesengaginginenvironmentalmanagementsystems(Hitchens,

Clausen,Trainor,Keil,&Thankappan,2003);moreover,anotherreasonforthefailureto

implementanEMSislinkedtotheclearcontrastbetweenthemainlyinformal

managementsystemofsmallandmedium-sizedfirmsandtheformalnatureofEMS

processes.Thismeansthattheintegrationofenvironmentalpracticeswithinafirm’s

managementsystemhasalotofimplementationpotentialinmanyfirms,still.

Withinorganizationalinnovation,animportanttopicisrepresentedbysupplychain

management(SCM),whichcanconsistofusingEMSliketheISO14001certificationto

gainacompetitiveadvantageagainstcompetitionandrespondtothepressurescoming

fromdownstreamentitieswithinthechain,oractivelyintegratingsocialand

environmentalissueswithintraditionalSCMpractices,therebyinfluencingexternal

actors,makingenvironmentalism“cascadethroughtheindustrialecosystem”(Holt,

2004).Afirststepisrepresentedbylocalsourcing(Klewitz&Hansen,2014)orlocal

production:sourcingmaterials,semi-finishedgoodsorcomponentsfromasmall

selectionofsuppliersor,betteryet,producingsuchgoodsinternally(vertical

integration),candrasticallydecreasetransportationemissions(andcosts)andvalue

socialsustainabilitythroughoutthevaluechainbydecreasinglaborandsocialissuesin

developingcountries,forinstance.Inspiteofthedropoftransportationemissions

reachableinthemerelogisticmanagementfunction,SCMinnovationrequiresawell-

definedstrategicdecisionbytopmanagement,whohastheresponsibilitytotakethe

environmentalandsocialcostsofsourcingintoaccount,withoutlosingcontrolofthe

economiccostofprocurement.Thisapproachonbehalfofmanagementcanbedefined

ascorporateenvironmentalproactivity(Bowen,Cousins,R.C.,&Faruk,2001),where

managementgoesbeyondmerecompliance,givinghighprioritytoenvironmental

issuesandmanagingenvironmentalriskactively.ASCMsustainability-oriented

approachalsoincludes:

• strategicpurchasingandsupply,wherethevarioustypesofpurchasedmaterials

andservicesalongwiththetypesofrelationshipsestablishedwiththesuppliers

areformalizedandwrittendown,includingtheminalong-termpurchasing

functionplan;

• supplymanagementcapabilities,characterizedbyastrongcoordinationamong

alltheorganizationalfunctionsinvolved,especiallythepurchasingfunction.

30

Purchasingpoliciesandproceduresneedtobeformalizedandwrittendown,

andtheknowledgeandtechnicalcompetenciesandskillsofthepurchasing

professionalsneedtobeenhanced.Furthermore,workersneedtogainan

advancedunderstandingofenvironmentalpracticesandhowtheyaffectthe

wholesupply;

• product-basedgreensupply,whichislargelybasedupontheclosenessandlevel

ofcooperationwiththesuppliers,inthecontinuousefforttoeliminatethe

packagingofsuppliedgoodsandreducewastetominimumlevels;

• greeningthesupplyprocess,whichimpliesastructuredsystemallowingsupplier

categorizationandtracking.Thegreeningprocessconsistsofaredesignofthe

strategicsupplierselectionprocessthroughanintegrationofenvironmental

criteriaintothevendorassessmentsystem.Thiswillallowtoconductan

analysisofthesupplierswithanenvironmentalmanagementsysteminplace

andrankthemaccordingtotheirenvironmentalperformancethroughascoring

system.Potentially,thescoringsystemcanbebaseduponasupplier

questionnaire(Gold,Seuring,&Beske,2010).

BaseonFigure1:“Modeloftheroleofsupplymanagementcapabilitiesingreensupply”,Sustainable

SupplyChainManagementandInter-OrganizationalResources:ALiteratureReview

31

Underthisperspective,withinorganizationalinnovationefforts,afundamentalissueis

representedbythecapabilitytospreadasustainabilityvisiontoalltheactorsactively

involvedinthechangeprocess.Thiscallsforthefundamentalcontributionofaninternal

academyorbusinessschool,embodyingtheprimarymeansabletoinfusetheopen-

mindednesstoacceptanewvisionandanewparadigmtoguidepeople’sdaily

operations.Inordertodoso,employeedevelopment,trainingandengagementcanbe

reachedthroughavarietyofactivities,rangingfromclasslecturesallthewayto

interactiveCSRactivitiesandsimulationsbaseduponwhat-ifscenariosandactual

organizationalinstances.

Additionally,sustainability-orientedorganizationalinnovationishighlydependenton

theinnovationprocessitself(Klewitz&Hansen,2014);newprinciplescanthereforebe

integratedinthetraditionalapproachtoinnovation,suchasbiomimicryorbiomimetics,

inwhichthenaturalenvironmentitselfisseenasa“basisforcreatingavisionary,

commercialopportunity,whichsoughttotranscendandtransformcurrentindustry

practice”(Kearins,Collins,&Tregidga,2010),inavisionthatreliesonadeepinsight

intotheknowledgeflowthatcanderivefromthestudyofnature.Thisconceptgoes

evenbeyondcorporateenvironmentalmanagement,deeplyconsideringabusiness-

naturerelationship.Asmuchasthisvisionmayseemextreme,itoffersaclear

perspectiveonhowtoembraceanewvisioninlinewiththeecologicalparadigmof

recenttimes.However,biomimeticsisnottheonlywaytochangetheinnovation

processitself:followingtheprinciplesofopeninnovationdescribedearlierinthis

chapter,inwhichthewholevaluechainconstitutesanetworkfromwhichthefirmis

abletosourceinnovativeideas,knowledgeandcompetencies.Evenentitiessuchas

governments,authorities,universitiesandresearchcenterscanbecomerolemodels,

regulators,knowledgedisseminators,financialsupportersandcapability-buildersin

mattersconcerningsocialandenvironmentalchallenges(Hansen&Klewitz,2012).

Untilnow,processandorganizationalinnovationhavebeendescribed,andonlyproduct

innovationhasbeenleftout.Productinnovationisoftenreferredtoaseco-design

(Lefebvre,Lefebvre,&Talbot,2001).Eco-designcomprehendstheactivitiesranging

frompre-manufacturingallthewaytotheendoftheproduct’slife-cycle,thereby

coveringitsideation,engineering,prototyping,productionandlogistics(Noci&

Verganti,1999).Itencompassesconceptssuchasenergy-savingfeatures,greenoreco-

32

friendlymaterials,productrecyclabilityandbothdurability,whichistheabilityofa

givenproducttoperformundernormaluseconditions(Cooper,BeyondRecycling-The

longerlifeoption,1994),andlongevity,whichisdependentonconsumerbehavior,too,

suchasthediscardingoffunctionalproductsbyconsumers(Cooper,Thesignificanceof

productlongevity,2010).Asforthesustainabilityvision,inorderforeco-design

principlestobeintegratedintothefirm’sstrategy,newcompetencieshavetobebuilt,

thankstotheeffortoftheinternalacademy.Oneofthepillarsofeco-designisthe

improvementoftheproduct’sentirelifecycle,whichstartsfromtheselectionofthe

materialstoemploy,reuseorreplace,andfinisheswithdecision-makingaboutreduced,

reusableorbiodegradablepackaging(Kearins,Collins,&Tregidga,2010).

Itisclearthattheabove-mentionedinnovationtypes(process,organizationaland

product)overlaptosomedegree,astheyallbelongtothesameprocessof

organizationalchange.Forinstance,effortsaimedatachievingcleanerproductionmight

becomeproductinnovations,lateron.Processandproductinnovationsarelinked,in

thatchangesinmanufacturingimplementedinitially,leadingtoanincreaseineco-

efficiency,maybringinreturnanewperspectiveontheproductlifecycleinitsentirety.

Processinnovationandorganizationalinnovationinteract,too,astheymaybe

complementary,andcanthereforeimprovetheoverallcompanyperformance

(Michelsen&Fet,2010).Forinstance,organizationalinnovationssuchasthe

developmentofmanagementsystemscanleadtoprocessinnovation(cleaner

production),thankstothemeasurementofmaterialconsumption,emissionsandwaste.

33

BasedonFigure4:“Anintegratedframeworkforsustainability-orientedinnovationofSMEs”,

Sustainability-orientedinnovationofSMEs:asystematicreview

Sustainability-oriented practices in SMEs

Incr

emen

tal

Radi

cal

Resistant Ignorance of environmental

and social issues beyond compliance

Reactive Reaction to external stimuli;

focus on efficiency

Anticipatory Time strategy to gain

competitive advantage

Proactive Active solutions to

social/environmental issues; First mover advantages

Sustainability-oriented New innovation principles; interaction with external

actors; sustainability-rooted business

model

Strategic sustainability behaviour

Process Innovation • Cleaner production • Eco-efficiency • Logistics

Organizational Innovation

• EMS • Supply chain

management

Product Innovation • Eco-design • Life cycle analysis

Types of innovation

Values of owner/manager

and staff

Environmental regulation

Pressure groups

Reputation Talent

attraction New customer

needs Other external drivers Drivers & barriers

34

Thepossibilityofalinkbetweensustainabilityandcorporatestrategywithinfirmsis

clear.However,thecommitmenttothecreationofamultidimensionalkindofvalue

(economic,environmentalandsocial)mustbebackedbyastrongvisionandinclination

tochange.Especiallyinthecaseofincumbentfirms,whichhavebeenonthemarketfor

manyyearsandsometimesdecades,transitioningtoanewwayofconductingdaily

activitiesonthebasisofanewforward-lookingperspectiveisfarfromgranted,andcan

requireorganizationaltransformationsdifficulttoimplementoreventoapproach.

Forthesereasons,delvingintothechangemanagementliteraturecandefinitelyprovide

moreclarityonthematter.

35

Chapter2:Managingchange

2.1Lewin’sUnfreeze–Move–Freezemodel

Changemanagementrepresentsthekeytosuccessfullyimplementanykindofstrategy

orvisionthatrequiresanorganizationaltransformation;asustainability-oriented

changemakesnoexception.Thischapteranalysesthechangemanagementmodelsand

toolsstudiedandputintopracticebyrenownedprofessors,researchers,managersand

evensociologists.

Probablythefirstchangemanagementtheorytracesitsoriginsbackto1947,whenKurt

Lewinformulatedthe“Unfreeze–Move–Freeze”or“Unfreeze–Change–Freeze”

theory(Grant,2016).

BasedonFigure1:Changeasthreesteps,“Unfreezingchangeasthreesteps:RethinkingKurtLewin’s

legacyforchangemanagement”

Thissimpleandlinearthree-stepmodelrepresentsthefoundationofmostofthelater

changemanagementtheories,someofwhichstillpermeatetoday’srelevant

managementliterature.

Theveryfirststepofthechangeprocessistounfreezethecurrentsituation.The

organizationneedstoprepareforchange,acknowledgingthefactthatitmightcomein

variousforms:gradualandincrementalordisruptiveandrevolutionary.Unfreezingis

crucialinthatitpavesthewayforthesecondstep:themovephase,whichistheactual

efforttoinnovate,abandoningtheoldschemas.Sincedecisionmakersareatthetop

leveloftheorganization,thespreadofthechangemessageusuallyoccursthroughatop-

downapproach,bymeansofformalandinformalcommunication.However,thetop-

downapproachisnotenough.Activerecognition,participationandadoptionofchange

atallorganizationallevelsiswhatmakesiteffective(Levasseur,2001).Thethirdand

laststepisFreezeorRefreeze,wheretheimplementedchangeiscrystallized,becoming

theneworganizationalstandard.Lewin(1947)describeschangeas“thedifference

betweenaprecedingsituationandafollowingsituationwhichhasemergedoutofthe

Unfreeze Move Freeze

36

firstasaresultofsomeinnerorouterinfluences”;healsogivesamathematical

representation:

Ch=Safter–Sbefore

WhereCh=change,Safter=following(new)situation,Sbefore=precedingsituation.

Wheneverchangecanbeconnectedtoafunctionofspecificfactorsaandbresponsible

forthatchange,alawisfound.

Lewin’sapparentlysimplethree-stepmodelisderivedfromhisapproachto

experimentalanalysisandprocedures.Bothfieldandlaboratoryexperimentshavethe

aimtogainanin-depthunderstandingofthenatureoftheinitialsituation(Sbefore),the

circumstancesandeventsthatcausechange(Ch)andthefinalscenario(Safter).

EventhoughLewin’smodelisreferredtoinmodernmanagementliteratureasthe

milestoneandturningpointofchangemanagement,itneedstobesaidthatasmuchasit

maybetrueinthathepavedthewayforlaterthoughts,theactualUnfreeze–Move–

(Re)freezeschemawasdevelopedafterLewin’sdeath,whichoccurredthesameyearhe

wrotehismostrelevantworkonthematter.

AsCummingsetal.(2016)pointout,whatisknownofthethree-stepchangemodel

todayismainlyapost-Lewinreconstruction.Lewinhimselfconductedhisanalysisfrom

asociologicalperspective,investigatinggroupbehaviour,ratherthanexplicitlyreferring

toorganizations.Nevertheless,thepost-Lewinshiftofthemodeltofirmlogiccannotbe

understoodasincoherent,sincefrombothasociologicalandeconomicperspective

organizationsarecomposedofgroupsofindividualsworkingandinteractingwitheach

otherwiththepurposeofreachingacertainpreestablishedobjective.Indeed,Lewin

introducestheconceptof“socialfield”,as“atotalityofcoexistingsocialentities,suchas

groups,subgroups,members,barriers,channelsofcommunication,etc.”(Lewin,1947),

allofwhichcanrelatetoorganizationalentities:nowonderlaterauthorsadopted

Lewin’sstudiesasanactionmodelformanagerialpractices.

AccordingtoLewin,groupsconstantlyshiftfromastateofconstancytoastateof

change,thatinturnbringsnewconstancy;thestateofconstancyitselfholdsthe

potentialforchange.Agroupisseenasadynamicentity,withseveralunderlaying

forcesLewincalls“socialforces”:restrainingforcespointtoadirectionopposedtothe

37

oneofdrivingforces.Thisassumptionrepresentsthebasisforthecoreconceptof

“quasi-stationaryequilibrium”.

AsLewin(1947)explains,thereareinstancesinwhichthedynamicforcesareboth

“oppositeindirection”and“equalinstrength”:

F(A)+F(B)=0

whereF(A)=drivingforces,F(B)=restrainingforcesandF(A)=-F(B)

Thereareinstances,ontheotherhand,inwhichthedrivingforcesprevailonthe

restrainingforces,orviceversatherestrainingforcesprevailonthedrivingforces,

causingashifttowardsonedirectionortheother.That’swhentheso-calledquasi-

stationaryequilibriumorquasi-stationarysocialstateislost,andchangeoccurs(Lewin,

1947).

Unfortunately,whatismissinginLewin’sworkisacoherentconnectiontoempirical

evidence.Ashewritesinoneofhislateworks:“Thefollowingexperimentsongroup

decisionhavebeenconductedduringthelastfouryears.Theyarenotinastatethat

permitsdefiniteconclusions”(Lewin,1947c),meaningthatdespitehisapproachand

desiretogiveempiricalgroundtohistheoreticalanalysis,histhoughtsremain

somewhatdisconnectedfromdirectfieldobservation.

Thethree-stepUnfreeze–Move–Freezemodelhasinlateryearsbeencriticizedfor

beingexcessivelysimplistic,withnoaccountforthecomplexityoftheexternal

environmentinwhichactorsoperate(Cleggetal.,2005;Child,2005).Othershavenoted

thatthemodelhasovertimebecomeobsolete,sinceitwasdevelopedinaworld

dominatedbypredictabilityandcertainty,whereasmoderntimesaredrivenby

uncertaintyandchaos(RobbinsandJudge,2009).However,asCummingsatal.point

out,Lewin’sthoughtsmustn’tbejudgedtobeover-simplistic,naïve,orevenobsolete.

Thewholefoundationofhisworkisbasedontheassumptionthatgroupsaredynamic

entities,inconstantmotionandchange,withbriefandlimitedtimespansof(unstable)

equilibria:howcanthisnotrelatetomoderntimes?Furthermore,Lewindidnotcoin

theFreezeorRefreezeterminologyhimself,sincehisbeliefwasthat“groupsareina

continualprocessofadaptation,ratherthanasteadyorfrozenstate”(Cummingsatal.,

2016);theoriginoftheterminologydescribingthemodel’sthirdstepcanbetraced

38

back,withsomedegreeofdoubtandinaccuracy,toLeonFestinger,Lewin’sformer

student,whouseditinaconferencepaperin1950(Cummingsetal.,2016).Forthesake

ofsimplicity,theterm(re)freezewillbeassociatedtoLewin’smodel’sthirdstep.

EventhoughLewin’smodelwasintendedtobeunderstoodastheframeworkfora

sociologicalanalysis,itsoonbecamethereferencemodeltoinvestigatechangewithin

thegrowingfieldofmanagementstudies.

2.2KolbandFrohman’sconsultationmodel

KolbandFrohman(1970)proposeamodelofconsultation,inwhichthegoalistofocus

onsomerelevantissuesthathavebeenignoredornotanalysedinpreviouschange

managementstudies,aswellasconstructingamodeloftheirown.Indoingso,they

mentionauthorsthathavecreatedchangemodelsbasedonLewin’sthree-step

landmarkintheyearsfollowinghisdeath.

Lippitt,WatsonandWestley(1958)in“TheDynamicsofPlannedChange”definefive

phasesofchange,inwhichtheimplementerofchangeisdefinedas“changeagent”,and

servesitsclient:

1.Discoveryofaneedforchange;2.Analysisoftherelationshipbetweenchangeagent

andclient;3.Examinationofalternativesandestablishmentoffinalobjective,leadingto

actiontowardschange;4.Generalizationandstabilizationoftheachievedchange;5.

Terminationoftherelationshipbetweenchangeagentandclient(Brotman,1958).

Beckhard(1969)inhisbook“OrganizationDevelopment:StrategiesandModels”defines

fivephases,aswell:1.Diagnosis;2.Strategyplanning;3.Education;4.Consultingand

training;5.Evaluation(Kolb,Frohman,1970).

LawrenceandLorsch(1969)intheirbook“DevelopingOrganizations:Diagnosisand

Action”identifyfourstagesinstead:1.Diagnosis;2.PlanningAction;3.Implementing

Action;4.Evaluation.

Schein(1969)wastheonewhoreplacedLewin’ssecondstep“Move”with“Change”.He

identifiessevensteps:1.Contactwiththeclient;2.Definitionoftherelationship;3.

Definitionofworkmethodologyandsetting;4.Datagatheringanddiagnosis;5.

Intervention;6.Involvementreduction;7.Termination(Kolb,Frohman,1970).

Theaforementionedmodelsarebasedontheassumptionthatthepresenceofan

externalactorisneeded,responsiblefortheco-implementationofchangewithinthe

organization.Theexternalactorisrepresentedbytheconsultant.KolbandFrohman’s

39

seven-stageprocessofplannedchange(1970)servesasaguidelineforconsultants

duringtheirpractice,andrepresentsanincorporationofthepreviousmodels’most

relevantpoints:

The“Scouting”phasereferstothesituationinwhichtheclientandtheconsultantsuffer

fromgreatinformationasymmetry:theyhaven’tcommittedtoworkingwithone

another,yet.Itistheclient’sresponsibilitytoidentifythenecessityandtohirethe

consultant,ifhiscontributionisperceivedaspotentiallybeneficial.

The“Entry”phaserepresentstheactualcontractbetweenthetwoparties,definingthe

termsoftherelationshipandthewaysinwhichtheactivitiesofthechangeprocesswill

becarriedout.Therearetenareasofagreementbetweenclientandconsultantthatare

fundamental:1.Definingthegoalofthecollaboration;2.Initialandgeneral

identificationoftheproblem;3.Impactoftheproblemonthesystem(organization);4.

Theclient’savailableresourcesandcapabilitiestofacetheproblem;5.Theconsultant’s

availableresourcesandcapabilitiestofacetheproblem;6.Modusoperanditotacklethe

problem;7.Natureofthecooperation;8.Benefitscreatedfortheclient;9.Benefits

createdfortheconsultant;10.Levelofinfluenceofonepartyontheother.

The“Diagnosis”phaseinvolvesanin-depthunderstandingonbehalfoftheconsultantof

theclient’ssystem,culture,perspectiveonthefeltissue,toensureabetterserviceanda

deeperinvolvementoftheclientinthediagnosticprocedure.

The“Planning”phaseinvolvesthedefinitionoftheinterventionprogram(planof

action);thedefinitionoftheobjectivesiscrucialinthisphase:themorepreciselyand

accuratelytheyaredefined,theeasieritistothinkofthebeststrategytoreachthem.

The“Action”phaseisabouttheimplementationoftheaforementionedstrategy.This

stepshouldbesmoothandstraightforward:itsdifficultyorfailureusuallyliesin

previoussteps’inaccuracies.

The“Evaluation”phaseconsistsofthecomparisonbetweenpredefinedgoalsand

reachedgoals.Thesizeofthegapbetweenthetwodetermineswhetheritisnecessary

togobacktothepreviousstages,ortomoveontothelaststep.

Scouting Entry Diagnosis Planning Action Evaluation Termination

40

The“Termination”phaseformallyendstherelationshipbetweentheclientandthe

consultant.However,thereisatrade-offthatneedstobetakenintoconsideration:the

relationship,asdefinedinthecontract,istemporary;butthenewly-createdchangeis

meanttobepermanent,oratleastlong-lasting.Toreachpredefinedshortormedium-

termgoalsisonething;toimprovetheclient’sproblem-solvingskillsandhis/her

judgementonthenatureoftheproblemsandtheirsolutionstrategyinthelongrunis

another.Therelationshipshouldthereforenotceaseassoonasthefirstresultsare

reached;ontheotherhand,iftheconsultantworksalongsidetheclientfortoolong,an

unhealthyco-dependencyisfostered,hinderingtheclient’sfuturecapacitytotake

autonomousaction.

Whilethesephasesseemlinearandsequentialintime,inpracticeonemaycomeafter

itsactualsuccessor,ortwophasesmayoccuratthesametime:overlapsandloopsare

quitecommon(Kolb,Frohman,1970).

2.3Senge’sLearningOrganization

Yearslater,PeterSenge(1990)developedtheconceptof(innovative)learning

organization,inhisbookTheFifthDiscipline,andoneofthemostconvincingtheoriesof

changealongwithit.Inhisperspective,organizationsareseenasteamswiththeability

toconstantlylearnandreinventthemselves(SyedaAsiyaZenabKazmiandMarja

Naarananoja,2014).Senge’smodelinbasedonfivesteps:

BasedonFigIV.PeterSenge’sFiveStepModeloflearningOrganizations,“CollectionofChangeManagementModels–AnOpportunitytoMaketheBestChoicefromtheVariousOrganizational

TransformationalTechniques”

“Systemsthinking”isacalltoseeandevaluatethepictureasawhole,ratherthanto

focusonsmallpiecesofthepuzzle.AsPeterSenge(1990)in“TheFifthDiscipline”

41

explains,“itisaframeworkforseeinginterrelationshipsratherthanthings,forseeing

patternsofchangeratherthanstatic“snapshots””.Sengeclaimsinhisbookthatthe

overwhelmingcomplexityoftheworldmadeitcrucialtoadoptsystemsthinking;itis

thereforenosurprisethatitactuallyembodiesthe“fifthdiscipline”inSenge’sbook’s

title.Well,almostthirtyyearsfromwhen“TheFifthDiscipline”waswritten,manyofthe

conceptsandconcernsSengementionedarestillverymuchaliveandpartiallyor

entirelyunsolved;indeed,insomecasesthescenariohasworsened.Sengerefersto

“problemssuchasglobalwarming,ozonedepletion[…]”as“systemicbreakdowns”.

Needlesstosay,theseissuesremaintodayprobablythebiggestchallengemodern

organizationsworldwidehavetodealwith,underextremepressures.

“Personalmastery”isreferredtoas“thelearningorganization’sspiritualfoundation”

(Senge,1990).Itisthecontinuousimprovementofpeople’sownvision,objectivity

towardstheenvironment,patienceandfocusofenergies.Theorganization’scapability

tolearnisdirectlyproportionateto–andindeedgivenby-thesumoftheindividual

members’capabilities.

“Mentalmodels”arefixedschemas,deeplyrootedinpeople’sminds,stronglyaffecting

thewaytheyseeandthinkaboutthesurroundingreality;theycanconfigureas

generalizationsdeterminedbyanover-simplisticjudgementorlackofextensive

analysisofacurrentinstance.Mentalmodelscanbesharedbyagroupofindividuals,

andthereforepermeateentireteams,aswellasorganizationsasawhole.Thesameway

thatmembersoftheorganizationconstitutethemainengineforchange,their

limitationsrepresenttheprimaryobstacletowhatSenge(1990)calls“institutional

learning”:thecapabilitytorecognizeandabandontheoldmentalmodelstoseethings

moreclearly,togetherwiththeplanningactivitythatfollowsit.Openconversationand

exposureamongindividualswithinagroupisthebestwaytoadoptthe“learningful”

(Senge,1990)behaviourallowingtoovercomethementalmodel.

“Buildingsharedvision”meanscreatingasharedperspectiveaboutthecompany’s

direction,andaboutthewaystoreachfuturegoals.Iftheindividualsunderstandand

adopttheculture,valuesandsenseofidentityofanorganization,theyalsounderstand

theactionsthatneedtobetaken.Moreover,thedeeperinvolvementhasbig

motivationalimpacts:workingaspartofadynamicentitysharingaclearvisionisvery

differenttoworkingforaleaderwhoseprinciplesandworkethicareoutofreach.

“Teamlearning”isthelaststep.Firm-levellearningistheultimateprerogativeof

42

learningorganizations;itdoesn’trepresentthefinalobjective,butthemaintooltonot

onlysurvivebutthriveintheincreasinglycompetitiveandcomplexenvironment,

instead.Asmentionedbefore,anorganizationisadynamicentitycomposedofgroupsof

individualsworkingandcooperatingamongstoneanother.Thisleadstotheconclusion

thatfirm-levellearningonlyhappensifindividualteamshavetheabilitytolearn.Group

learningisnotstraightforward,byanystretchoftheimagination.Whenateamis

learning,itproducesgoodresults.Thegroup’sabilitytoperformisdirectlyproportional

tothesocalled“collectiveintelligence”(Woolley,Chabris,Pentland,Hashmi,Malone,

2010).Senge’sstatement(1990)thattheeffectivenessofgrouplearningislinkedtothe

individuals’abilitytocommunicateandengageinproductivedialoguewithoneanother

issupportedbythelaterfindingsofWoolley,Chabris,Pentland,Hashmi,Malone(2010),

whodiscoveredthroughempiricalstudiesthat,eventhoughitmayseem

counterintuitive,thereisverylittlecorrelationbetweenagroup’scollectiveintelligence

(theauthorscall“c”)andtheaverageindividualintelligence,aswellasbetweencand

themaximumindividualintelligence;ontheotherhand,thereisstrongcorrelation

betweencandaveragesocialsensitivity,aswellasbetweencandthepercentageof

groupmembersactivelycommunicating:themoreequaltheturn-takingofmembers

withinthedialogue,thebetterthecollectiveperformance.

Senge’sfive-stepmodelrepresentsanimportantleapforward,sincepeoplewithinthe

organizationplayanactiverole.Insteadofbeingmerereactorstochange,theyengage

infullandconsciousparticipation,contributingtomodelreality(Senge,1990).

2.4Goldratt’sTheoryofConstraints

NotallchangemodelsderivefromLewin’sfirstconceptualization.The“TOC”(Theoryof

Constraints)changemodelderivesfromamanagement-orientednovelbyGoldratt

(1984),“TheGoal”,whichnarratesAlexRogo’spathtorescuingtheproductionplanthe

isresponsiblefor.Inordertosolvetheproblemoflowefficiencyandthereforelow

profitabilityofthedivision’sproductionplant,Alexcomestorealizethatthefirststepto

cometoasolutionistobreakdowntheproblemintothreemainanalyticcomponents:

“throughput”,whichistheflowofmoneyintotheplant;“inventory”,whichisthemoney

insidetheplant;“operatingexpanse”,whichistheflowofmoneyoutoftheplant

(Goldratt,1984).Thesethreevariablesareinterdependent:changingonevariable

inevitablymeanschangingtheothertwo;inparticular,increasinginventoryor

43

increasingoperatingexpensewilldecreasethroughput(Nao,Bernardes,Coman,2011).

TheTOC’sfinalobjectiveistoincreasecashflow,ROI(ReturnOnInvestment)andprofit.

Inotherwords,thegoalistomaximizethroughput,minimizinginventoryandoperating

expense(Rattner,2006).

TheTOCisbasedontheassumptionthateachprocessorprojecthasatleastone

constraint,anissuethatneedstobeovercome.Byeliminatingoneconstraint,another

willappear(Nao,Bernardes,Coman,2011),buttheprocesswillproceedforward,

eventuallyreachingtheend.

Goldratt’sTOCcanbesummarizedwithinageneralframework,basedonthecyclic

natureoftheprocessofdealingwiththeconstraints.Fivestepsareidentified(Rattner,

2006):

TheabovestepsareexaminedbyGoldratt(1990)inhisbook“What is this thing called

Theory of Constraints and how should it be implemented?”. A system constraint is “anything

that limits a system from achieving higher performance versus its goal” (Goldratt, 1990).

Given this definition, the first step becomes clear. Identifying the constraint within a given

situation leads to the second step: exploiting the constraint means finding a way to manage

the available resources in an efficient manner, allocating them where they are most needed.

Subordinating any other aspect to the previous action involves focusing on how to limit the

constraint itself. Constraints therefore can be gradually reduced (or “elevated”) through a

well-thought out plan and an efficient resource allocation, until a point will be reached at

which the constraints will be entirely overcome. Then of course, another constraint will

emerge, following the first one; and this is when the process has to go back to step one,

identifying the newborn constraint. There is, however, an important aspect to consider: going

back to step one can be somewhat disruptive, and a new scenario with a new constraint often

requires a new policy framework. Ignoring the need to adapt to change by reshaping the

internal production policies can be fatal, and it is what Goldratt (1990) calls “inertia”.

44

WhiletheTOCinTheGoalhasastrongoperationalnature,focusedonproductionand

processmanagement,inGoldratt’s1990booktheTOCbecameatoolwithawiderreach.

Afterdepictingthefivesteps,itbecomesclearthattheauthor’sintentionistocreatea

broaderframework,bydelvingintotheprocessofchangethroughthreemainquestions:

“Whattochange?”,“Towhattochangeto?”,“Howtocausethechange?”.Goldratt

recognizesthepsychologicalnatureofthesequestions:changerepresentsathreatto

security,whichinturnprovokesastateof“emotionalresistance”;emotionalresistance

canbeovercomebyagreateremotion,only(Goldratt,1990).Theauthortherefore

recognizesthecrucialroleofpeople,thecoreofanorganization.However,theroleof

theleader–seenastheinnovatorandfinderofthesolutiontoimplementchange–is

emphasizedaswell.Thekeytosuccessfullyimplementingchangeistofightthe

widespreademotionalresistancewiththegreaterandmorepowerfulemotionofthe

innovator;inordertodoso,peoplemustinsomewayfeelresponsibleforchangeand

shareownershipoftheidea.Whilecommunicatingchangeandmakingotherpeople

ownersofthechangeideaatthesametimemayseemparadoxical,Goldratt(1990)

explainsthatthereisawaytodosoafterall.Theinnovatormustguidetheprocessby

raisingquestions,inordertounderlinethecriticalitiesandflawsofthecurrent

situation;peoplemustbemadeawareofthefactthatchangeisindeedneeded.Goldratt

himselfadoptsthesameschemainTheGoal:becauseofthecontinuousquestioningby

theauthor,thereadermightevengetannoyedatfirst;it’smucheasiertoreadanswers,

ratherthanquestions.However,bydoingsothereaderisoutinasituationwherehe

himselfmustbetheonecreatingtheanswers.Bythesametoken,agoodquestioning

linecanguidepeople,makingthemcometotherightsolutionbythemselvesevenina

realorganizationalsetting:“Everybodyhastheabilitytoinvent,ifskilfullyinduced”

(Goldratt,1990).Inhischangemodel,therefore,Goldrattrecognizestheessentialroleof

boththeleader(theinnovator)andtheotherworkers;heunderstandsthatthemere

top-downapproachisn’tenoughtocreatepervasiveandeffectivechange,unlessall

peoplesharetheurgeandtheinnovation-orientedmindsetthemselves.Thereseemsto

benodownside,otherthanthefactthattheprocesstakestime:mindscannotbe

changedovernight,andneithercanculture,habits,routinesandsystematicaction.But

theresultisinformedanddrivenpeople,actingpositively,intherightdirectionand

quiteautonomously,makingthe“carrotandstick”methodnotonlyunnecessarybut

evenobsolete.

45

BasedonFig.VFrankPatricksTOCChangeManagementModel,“CollectionofChangeManagementModels–AnOpportunitytoMaketheBestChoicefromtheVariousOrganizationalTransformationalTechniques”

AsinthepreviousTOCmodel,theaboverepresentationofthethoughtprocessleading

tochangeiscyclical.Theconstantelevationofacurrentconstraintpavedthewayforthe

nextconstrainttoemerge,andtheprocessstartedagain.Analogously,thechange

processdoesnotjustendafterthefirstimplementation;anewchangewillberequired

eventually,andtheprocesswillstartagain.

WhileGoldratt’sTOCmodelmayatfirstglanceseemaninstrumenttoincreaseprofit

only,bybringinginnovativesolutionstoproductionprocesses,itsapplicationseemsto

bebroader,applicabletomanyotherorganizationalinstances.Asthecyclicalnatureof

thetheoryshows,theconstraintsdon’teverend,andneitherdoeschange:effective

changetakestime.Ontopofthat,asexplainedbefore,thebottomlineofany

organizationalactivityisrepresentedbythehumanfactor.Toimplementtruesystemic

change,peoplemustbethemaincarriersandtheultimaterecipients.

2.5TheEasternway:Kaizen

Allthepreviousreasoningbringstotheconclusionthatchangedoesnotnecessarily

havetobeaboutone-shotsolutions,biginvestmentsanddisruption.Rather,itcantake

theformofanincrementalandnever-endingimprovement.Disruptiveeventsdooccur,

ofcourse,anddisruptivemeasureshavetobetakeninresponse;butthatalonedoesnot

predictlong-termsuccess.ThisisthekindofreasoningonwhichtheOrientalschoolof

thoughtisbased.Inparticular,theJapanesewordKaizenbestfitsthedescriptionabove:

“Kai”means“change”,whereas“Zen”standsfor“good”(Besta,Lenort,2009);“Good

change”isthecontinuousandsmall-stepimprovement,valuingthelong-term

perspective,ratherthantheshorter-termandsomewhatprofit-orientedview.

What to change?

How to cause change?What to

change to?

46

Thefollowinggraphrepresentsthetheoreticalcourseofinnovationovertime,as

perceivedinthe“western”approach.

BasedonFig.1:Theoreticalcourseofinnovation,“Kaizen-Rightmanagement”

Thechangeprocessisrepresentedasaseriesofseparatesteps,alloccurringindistinct

momentsoftime.Aftereachchangeorstep(verticalsegments)thereisaflathorizontal

spanoftimeindicatingorganizationalinertia,untilthenextchangehastooccur.The

graphonlyrepresentsthetheoreticalevolution,inthatitdoesnottakeintoaccountthe

steadydecreaseofeffectivenessofagivenchangeorinnovationovertime:eachtime

spanisthereforenotflatatall;rather,theydiminish:

Change/In

novatio

n

Time

Theoretical evolution

47

BasedonFig.2:Realcourseofinnovation,“Kaizen-Rightmanagement”

Incontrast,theKaizencourseofimprovementmovesaheadslowerbutsteadier.

Improvementdoesnotmeanbiginvestmentanddisruption,norfragmentedsporadic

change;improvementisawayofdoingbusinessandawayofconductingoperations.

BasedonFig.3:ThecourseofinnovationintheconditionsofcontinuousimprovementKaizen,“Kaizen-

Rightmanagement”

Change/In

novatio

n

Time

Actual evolution

Change/In

novatio

n

Time

Kaizen innovation

48

Moreover,Kaizenisaphilosophyaffectingthehumanresourcesnotonlywithinthe

organization,ateverylevel,butwithintheirprivatelivesaswell(Besta,Lenort,2009).

2.5.1Leanmanagement

ThekaizenprinciplesprovidethebackgroundtootherFarEast-developedmanagement

tools.

Leanmanagementisthefirstexamplethatcomestomind.Itisbuiltonavarietyof

layers,rangingfromtheAmericanscientificdivisionoflabor(Taylorism)andthe

assemblylineprocesses(Fordism)oftheearly20thcentury,totheJapaneseproduction

systems.Actually,LeanManagementisconsideredtotraceitsoriginsbacktotheToyota

ProductionSystems(TPS);asmuchasthatmaybetrue,throughouttheyearsthe

“Americanway”hadinfluencedtheTPScreators,whotookinspirationfromitand

adaptedittotheJapaneseattitude(Parkes,2015).Leanmanagementisbestregardedas

asetofprinciplesaroundwhichacompanybuildsitswayofdoingbusiness.Themain

focusareasarequalityimprovementofmanufacturedgoods,processoptimization

(effectivenessandefficiency),Just-In-Timeproduction,eliminationofwastealongwith

othernon-value-creatingactivitiesandredundancies(forinstance,abolitionof

intermediatewarehouses),flexibleworkforce.

Moreover,thethriveforperfectionintheproductionprocessandtheroleofQualityas

mainproductfeaturegavebirthtothesetofmanagerialpracticesknownasTotal

QualityManagement(TQM),widelyacknowledgedandused(Parkes,2015).However,

theaforementionedfocusareasarenotthorough.Leanpracticesarebasedonfactors

suchasorganizationalvalues,normsandculture,deeplyembeddedinagivensociety’s

traits;inparticular,intheJapanesesocietythisculturalsubstratumiscomposedof

particularism,whichreferstopointofviewdiversityandmutualrespect;collectivism,

whichreferstoasenseofbelongingandmembership;cooperation,whichconsistsof

teamworkandreciprocity(Parkes,2015).Hence,leanmanagementisacomplexand

multifacedmanagerialphilosophy,andshouldnotbeusedindiscriminatelyand

confusedwithleanproduction,whichentailsanoperationalmeaningprimarily.

2.5.2Deming’sPDCAmodel

Leanmanagementandtotalqualitymanagementarenottheonlymanagerialoutcomes

resultingfromkaizen,noraretheytheonlyonesderivingfrombothWesternand

49

Easterninfluences.ThePDCACycle(PlanDoCheckAct)wasdevelopedbyW.E.Deming

inthemid-ninetiesinJapan(Moen&Norman,2006).Itsoriginscanbetracedbackto

W.A.Shewhartandhis“ShewhartCycle”,basedonthreestepsforimprovement:

Specification,Production,Inspection,deeplyrootedinGalileoGalilei’sscientific

approach.AsShewhartwrites,thethreestepsofspecification,productionand

inspectioncorrespondtothescientificmethod’sMakingahypothesis,Carryingoutan

experiment,andTestingthehypothesis,respectively(ShewhartW.A.,1939).

BasedonFigure3,ShewhartCycle,“EvolutionofPDCACycle”

DemingmodifiedtheShewhartCycle,maintainingthecyclicstructure.TheDeming

cycle,alsocalledDeming’sWheel,wasatfirstusedinJapanasatooltolaunchnew

productsonthemarketandwasthereforeappliedtooperationsonly.Thefourphasesof

thecyclewerethefollowing:ProductdesignàTestproductinproductionlineàPut

productonthemarketàMarket-researchtogainunderstandingofusers’opinionàBack

tostage1:Productre-design.However,Deming’scyclewassoontranslatedintoa

broaderframework,thePlanDoCheckActcycle,todetectandovercomeproblemsand

criticalitiesinavarietyofprocesses:

BasedonFigure6:JapanesePDCACycle,1951,“EvolutionofPDCACycle”

Production

Inspection

Specification

Plan Do

CheckAct

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1. The“Plan”stepreferstoproblemdefinition,aswellastoidentificationof

possiblecausesandsolutions;

2. The“Do”stepisabouttheimplementationofthechosensolution;

3. The“Check”stepinvolvesresultevaluation;

4. The“Act”stepinvolvesactingaccordingtotheoutcomeofthepreviousstep:if

theresultevaluationinpositive,thesolutioncanbeadoptedandstandardized;if

theresultevaluationisnotsatisfying,actingmeansgoingbacktostep1and

restartingthecycle.

ThecyclehasnotstayedthesamesinceitwasfirstformulatedbyDeming(Moen&

Norman,2006).The“Plan”stepwasfurtherimplementedbytheJapaneseIshikawa,

whotriedtoincludetargetsandgoaldeterminationmethods.The“Do”stepwasfurther

implemented,too,witheducationandtrainingtosupporttherightpathtosolution

(Ishikawa,1985).OverthenextyearstheCyclebecameamanagementtool,byall

means.Nevertheless,DeminghimselfmodifiedtheCycle,intheEighties.Thereasonfor

thatwastheimprecisionofthe“Check”step:theword“checking”wasnotaccurate,

sinceitsmeaningrecallspassiveobservationandcontrol,ratherthanactive

investigationofthecriticalitiesinvolvedintheprocess.Thenewrevisedcyclewascalled

“PlanDoStudyAct”(PDSA):

BasedonFigure7:ShewhartCycle:Deming,1986andFigure8:PDSACycle:Deming,1993,“Evolutionof

PDCACycle”

•Result analysis and study: new knowledge and possible predictions

•Broad change implementation, change improvement or complete abortion which leads to a new cycle

•Implement the change identified in the previous step (possibly on small scale, as a test)

•What changes are desirable? •What are the available data?•Is further observation needed?•How to use the data?

Plan Do

StudyAct

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Thenew“Study”phasereplacedtheprevious“Check”stepinordertorecognizethe

importanceoftheroleofnewknowledge,representingacrucialfactortoenablethe

learningprocessandtobestimplementfurtherchange.

ThenewPDSACyclewasthenfurtherrevised;threequestionswhereformulatedby

Langleyetal.,theanswerstowhichcanbefoundbyusingthecycle:“Whatarewetrying

toaccomplish?Howwillweknowthatachangeisanimprovement?Whatchangecan

wemakethatwillresultinanimprovement?”(Langley,etal.,2009):

BasedonFigure1.1:Themodelforimprovement,“Theimprovementguide”

TheKaizenprincipleofcontinuousimprovementalongsidetheWesternscientific

methodsrepresentthestartinggroundandthesubstratumtothemultitudeofthe

aforementionedmodels,whichareusedbothastoolforsingleprocessimprovement

andforbroaderchangeaction.

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2.6Kotter’smodel

BytheendoftheNinetiesProfessorJohnKotterfromHarvardUniversityconstructeda

linearmodeltoimplementchangeattheorganizationallevel.Themodel,describedin

Kotter’sbook“LeadingChange”(1996)soonbecamethebestknownandmostadopted

frameworkforchangeinbusinesspractice,consideredbymanythemostrelevantwork

inchangemanagementliterature(Dewar&Keller,2009).Kotter’smodeldescribeseight

stepstobefollowedtosuccessfullyimplementchange(Kotter,Leadingchange,1996):

Theaboveeightstepswillbedescribedmoreintodetail;however,itisnecessaryto

contextualizetheprocessfirst,bymentioningtheeconomicbackgroundandthe

macroeconomicforcesthatinspiredKotter’sreasoningandbroughthimtodrawthe

conclusionthatchangewithinorganizationsisnecessary.

AsKotter(1996)admits,managersandleadersbelongingtohisgenerationlivedina

worldverydifferenttohowitturnedouttobebytheveryendofthe20thcentury.Inthe

Sixties,theenvironmentinwhichcompaniesoperatedwasstableandtoagoodextent

predictable,andchangehappenedslowlyandincrementally.BytheendoftheNineties

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(whenKotter’s“LeadingChange”waspublished),however,thescenariowasfarfrom

thesame:social,politicalandeconomicforcesmadeitimpossiblefororganizationsto

competeandevensurvivewithoutincurringintomajorchanges.Kotteridentifiesfour

majorgame-changingfactorsresponsibleforthenewneedforchange:

BasedonExhibit1:“EconomicandSocialForcesDrivingtheNeedforMajorChangeinOrganizations”,

LeadingChange

“Technologicalchange”broughtfasterandeasierlong-distancecommunication(e.g.

informationnetworks)connectingpeopleworldwide,aswellasbettertransportation;

“internationaleconomicintegration”meansfewertariffsandbarriersandincreased

globalcapitalflows;“maturationofmarketsindevelopedcountries”meansslower

domesticgrowth,moreaggressiveexportandincreasedderegulation;finally,the“fallof

CommunistandSocialistregimes”determinedanincreaseinthenumberofcountries

whoadoptedorarelinkedtothecapitalistsystem,aswellasanincreaseofworldwide

privatization(Kotter,TheNewRules:HowtoSucceedinToday'sPost-corporateWorld,

1995).Thesefourfactorsledtotheglobalizationofmarkets,aswellastoadrastic

increaseinglobalcompetition;thenewscenariocreatednewhazardsthreateningfirms’

survivalononehand,andnewopportunitiesforimprovementandgrowthontheother.

Inanewparadigmoflesspredictability,moreuncertaintyandcomplexityonlyone

thingiscertain:onlytheoneswhochangesurvive.

Kotteristhefirsttoadmit:“Alldiagramstendtooversimplifyreality.Ithereforeoffer

[theEight-StageProcessofCreatingMajorChange]withsometrepidation”(Kotter,

Leadingchange,1996).Aneight-stepschemacannotbeasimplesolutiontoalltroubles,

butitsurelyrepresentsaveryusefultooltoassistleadersandmanagersintheprocess

ofsuccessfullyimplementinganeededchange.Thefullprocessnotonlytakestime,but

itiscomplicatedandmessy,thereasonbeingthatoverallchangecanoftenbecomposed

ofvariousminorchangeprocesses:severalprojectsmayhavetobeadvanced

simultaneouslyinordertoreachabroader(butnotfinal)objective.Nevertheless,

Technological Change

International Economic

Integration

Maturation of markets in Developed Countries

Fall of Comunism and Socialist

Regimes

54

accordingtoKotteritisimportanttokeeptheprocesslinearandinsequence.Skipping

aheadofstepsmayseemtheobviousoption,sincemanagersarealwaysunderthe

pressureofhavingtoperformwellandquick,butthechancesofsucceedinginonestep

arehighlydependentonthesuccessofthepreviousstep.

EventhoughovertwentyyearshavepassedsinceKotter’s“LeadingChange”wasfirst

published,itremainsextremelyup-to-date.Theevidenceofthetimesuggestedthatover

thenextfewdecades“therateofenvironmentalmovementwillincreaseandthe

pressuresonorganizationstotransformthemselveswillgrow”(Kotter,Leadingchange,

1996).Itistrue:technologicalinnovationstilldeeplyaffectsbusinessesfromavarietyof

perspectives;internationaleconomicintegrationhascometopeaklevelswiththe

openingupofcountrieslikeChina,India,Russia,withthestrengtheningoftheEuropean

Unionbecomingoneextendedmarket,andwiththeemergenceofdevelopingcountries

(Theretreatoftheglobalcompany,2017).

Kottermakesacrucialdistinctionbetweenleadershipandmanagement.Managementis

seenas“asetofprocessesthatcankeepacomplicatedsystemofpeopleandtechnology

runningsmoothly.Themostimportantaspectsofmanagementincludeplanning,

budgeting,organizing,staffing,controlling,andproblemsolving”(Kotter,Leading

change,1996),whereasLeadershipontheotherhand“isasetofprocessesthatcreates

organizationsinthefirstplaceoradaptsthemtosignificantlychangingcircumstances”

(Kotter,Leadingchange,1996).Kotterassociatesmanagers’activitytothepresent,and

leaders’activitymoretothefuture(vision,inspiration,dynamism);that’soneofthe

reasonswhyimplementingchangeisdifficult:mostpeoplejudgechangetobea

managerialissue,whenthetruthisthatitisratheraleadershipissue.Change

implementationoftenfailedbecauseofthelackofleadershipskillsandcompetencesin

manycompanies.Thereasonforthatisrootedinsuccess:asacompanyexperiences

successandestablishesacertaindegreeofmarketdominance,itbecomeslargerand

moredifficulttocontrol;thefocusshiftsinward,creatingtheneedformanagerial

figures.Thenumberofmanagersexceedsbyfarthenumberofleaders,creatinga

shortageofleadershipcapabilitiestorespondtothenecessitiesofthetransforming

externalenvironment.Anexplicitguidethereforebecomescrucial.

ThefirststepinKotter’smodelisestablishingasenseofurgency.Aswasthecasein

Goldratt’sreasoning,Kotterrecognizesthefundamentalroleofpeoplewithinthe

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organization,atanylevel.Asenseofurgencyisanawarenessconstantlyaffectingone’s

thinkingprocessandactions,anditisbasedonbothrationalityandemotion:rationally

understandingthereasonsforchangemustbeassociatedwithemotionalinvolvement,

too.Furthermore,experienceplaysarole;toeffectivelyinternalizechange,a

shortcomingmustbeactuallyperceivedandexperienced,andafterhavingperceivedthe

need,itmustbeaccepted,too;onlyoncetheneedforchangehasbeeninternalizedand

acceptedthefirstmovetowardsactionispossible:actorsthenareconsciousand

responsible,andtheold“carrotandstick”methodbecomesnotonlyunnecessarybut

evenobsolete.Oneofthebiggestissuesconcerningthefirststepiscomplacency,along

withthedifficultytodrivepeopleoutoftheircomfortzoneandmakethemrealizethat

disregardofexisting(butoftennotself-evident)issuescanleadtodisaster.Thereare,

accordingtoKotter,ninefactorscausingcomplacencyinanorganization:

BasedonExhibit1:SourcesofComplacency,“LeadingChange”

Itoftenhappensthatacriticalissueisnotcompletelyexplicit.Externalindicatorsmight

notbealarming,therecouldbenolossofmoney,people,orresources.However,issues

maybeimplicit,hardtonoticeatfirstglance,likeforinstancecustomerdissatisfaction

overthelongrun.Ormaybeacrisissimplyhasnotmanifesteditselfyet,butitisabout

56

tocome,likepenalizingmacroeconomicforcesorworldwidecontractions.Moreover,

mediocreorbadperformancemayseempositiveifcomparedtoloworwrong

standards:profitsthathavegoneupby“x”attheendofagivenyearindicateagood

performanceonlyinabsoluteterms,butnotifcomparedtothepreviousyear’s“2x”

profitincrease.Anothersourceofcomplacencyistheemployees’focusontheirown

function’sresultsonly.Thisway,thebiggerpictureofthecompany’sperformanceis

takenintoverylittleconsideration,fosteringacultureof“it’snotmyfault”syndrome,

wheretheonlypersontakingresponsibilityforgeneralindicatorsistheChiefExecutive

Officer.Moreover,singleemployees’feedbackonperformanceusuallyreliesonan

internalevaluationsystem,only;thisdeniesthemorecompleteandaccurateevaluation

systemlinkedtothejudgmentofexternalstakeholdersaswell,likeforinstance

suppliers’andclients’happiness.Anotherissueisthelackofhonestandeffective

confrontationamongemployees;thisiscloselylinkedtothehumantendencytovalue

wantedinformationanddenyunwantedinformation.Unwantednewsoftenimpliesan

increaseoftheworkload,orevenworsethenecessitytochangepeople’spreviousand

usualmodusoperandi,whichleadsthemtounconsciously(orconsciously)ignoringthe

informationaltogether.Thisisduetothestatusquopreservation,anirrationalbarrier

toanychange;whenfacedwithchange,peopletendtopreferinertiatoaction,evenif

thebenefitsofthenewstatusarehigherthanitsdownsides(Bazerman&Moore,2009).

Lastbutnotleast,complacencyisfomentedbyanexcessof“happytalk”.Celebrating

pastsuccessorcurrentachievementsshiftstheattentionawayfromrelevantchallenges

thatcanagaingetdangerouslyignored.

Fortheabove-mentionedreasons,theoverallsenseofurgencycanbe(andoftenis)very

low.

ThesecondstepinKotter’sprocessistocreateaguidingcoalition.Astrongleaderis

fundamentaltoguideanddirectchange.Itisnotasurprisethatdeeptransformations

oftenstartwithanewleaderincharge,thereasonbeingthatthatpersonisnottoo

stronglytightenedtotheoldwaysofdoingbusinessandmanagingthecompany.A

commonproblemwithtopexecutiveswithinorganizationsisthattheymaybeblinded

byyearsofexperienceandpastsuccess,andtheymightnotseedifferentpathsother

thantheonestheywereusedtoseeing,whichperfectlyfitsinSenge’sdescriptionof

“mentalmodels”:fixedschemasandperceptionsofreality,difficulttomoveawayfrom.

However,aleaderaloneisfarfromsufficient;accordingtoKotter,changestartsatthe

57

top,andmovesdownalongthehierarchy;topmanagersmustbethefirstonestosetan

example,sothatotherscanfollowsuit.Kotteridentifiesfourmaincharacteristicsa

guidingcoalitionmustpossess:positionpower,meaningthatasufficientnumberofthe

organization’smainactorshavetoagreewiththechange;expertise,meaningthatthe

varietyofneededskillsandcompetencesmustbepresentwithinthecoalition;

credibility,meaningthatenoughpeoplewithinthecoalitionmusthaveagoodreputation

amongemployees;leadership,whichisthecapabilitytodriveanddirectchange.Once

thepresenceofthesefactorshasbeenestablished,itiscrucialtobuildtrustamongteam

members:trustisahumantraitessentialforsuccessfulandlong-lastingteamwork.In

largeorganizations,mistrustcanexistbetweenfunctionsordivisions,aswellas

betweendifferentlevelsofthesamedivision.Thishastodowiththeself-focusof

people,aforementionedprimarysourceofcomplacency:ifpeople’sattentionandeffort

aredirectedtotheirownactivityandtheirownresultsexclusively,theneverythingelse

andeveryoneelsearenotonlysecondary,buttheybecomeanactualthirdpartytobe

lookedatwithsuspicionandmistrust.Buildingtrustisfarfromeasy,especiallysinceit

ishardlyeverreachedwithinacoupleofdays;itrequiresmonthsandsometimesyears

ofworkingtogetherandknowingeachother.However,trustcanbeenhanced,andthe

processofbuildingitcanbefastened,byincreasingexistingteamactivitiesorby

creatingnewteamstodealwithnewprojects.Humaninteractionoutsideteamprojects

canbeimproved,too,byorganizingmeetingsattheendoftheworkday,todiscuss

issuesandimprovements,andtotakeasnapshotofthecurrentsituationandcurrent

activities:thisalsohasthedirectpositiveexternalityofmakingpeopleawareofthe

biggerpictureandmakingthemsensitizedofeachother’sneeds,tofoster

communication,cooperationandempathy.Team-buildingcanalsobeenhancedthrough

socialactivitiesoutsidetheworkplace,butnotwithoutsomedrawbacks,likethefact

thatitisdifficulttoenforceorcontrol,orthefactthatitwouldmeanerodingpeople’s

personallife’stime,orthefactthatitcantakeyearsorevendecades(Kotter,Leading

change,1996).

Thenextstepisthedevelopmentofavisionandastrategy,thevisionbeingavivid

pictureofthefuture,andthestrategybeingtherationaletoreachthevision.According

toKotter,avisionmustentailthefollowingcharacteristics:itmustbeimaginable,inthat

peoplemustbeabletopictureit;desirable,inthatitmeetstheinterestofthe

stakeholdersatlarge;feasible,inthattheremustbearealisticchanceofreachingthe

58

objective;focused,inthatitisunderstandableenoughtoallowdecision-making

instruction;flexible,inthatitallowsforaccommodationtonewconditions;

communicable,inthatitmustnotbehardtoexplain.Theprocessofcreatingavisionis

complexandnon-linear.Thevisionisfirstcreatedbytheleaderandcommunicatedto

theguidingcoalitionfirst;atthispointtheideawillbediscussedextensivelyand

modifieduntilagoodclarityandagoodconsensusarereached.Acriticalissueis

representedbyhowmuchdetailshouldbeexpressedinthevisionstatement;the

answertothisquestionis“estmodusinrebus”,meaningthatthestatementshouldnot

entailtoodetailedobjectives,norshoulditbetoophilosophicalorvague.Aneffective

visionmustbelong-reaching,inordertopullpeopleawayfromtheircomfortzone;it

valueslong-termobjectivesmorethanshort-termones;ittakesintoconsideration

stakeholdervalueoverstockholdervalue(Jensen,2010);itoftenexploitsglobal-scale

trends;lastbutnotleast,ithassomekindofmoralpower(Kotter,Leadingchange,

1996).Thereasonthe“moralpower”dimensionisoftenpresentislinkedtothefactthat

theideaofthevisionfirstcreatedandpresentedbytheleaderisnotonlytheresultof

rationalandlogicthought,butthereisalsoastrongemotionaldriveasforinstance

excitement,passion,orevenphilanthropy.Oncethevisionhasbeencreatedanda

generalstrategyhasbeendiscussedanddeveloped,it’sthemanagers’tasktotransform

thestrategyintoaction,bydefiningprecisestepswithinaspecificplan,andby

convertingtheplanintofinancialobjectivesandforecasts.

Awellthough-ofvisionisonlysuccessfultothedegreetowhichitiseffectively

communicatedthroughouttheorganization.Oneofthekeystodosoisbyembracing

BlaisePascal’smessagewhenhewrote“Iwouldhavewrittenashorterletter,butI

didn’thavethetime”(Pascal,1656):ashortandclearmessageisbyfarmoreeffective

thancomplexandlongwindedrhetoric,anditismoredifficulttoproduce,too.

Furthermore,giventhatthevisionneedstobecommunicatedtoalllevelsofthe

organizationratherthanfewtoplevelsexecutives,languagebecomesakeyfactor;

managerialvocabularyandbusiness-specificterminologyarecompletelyinefficient

whenitcomesdowntocommunicatingwithengineers,techniciansorevenline

workers,whooftenrepresentmostofthehumanresources.HermannSimonsstatesthat

“Thesimplicityandclarityofagoalsupportsitseffectivecommunication”(Simon,

1996).Moreover,leadersmustbethefirstonestotake–andshow–action.When

peoplewatchsuperiors’orleaders’engagementinadirectmanner,themessageisquite

59

easilyconveyed,andtheywillfollowsuit;forthisreason,itisadvisableforleadersand

topexecutivesnottoliveinabubbleoftheirown,distantanddisconnectedfromthe

lowerlevels,butrathertoshow,participatetotheday-to-daylifeofthecompanyandbe

directlyinvolvedinlower-leveloperations,“gettingthehandsdirty”everyonceina

while.HermannSimonsrecognizestheimportanceofvision(morespecifically,goal)

communication,too:“Ifcommunicatedeffectively,thegoalleadstheconductofall

employees”(Simon,1996).

Afterhavingdescribedthefirstfourstagesofthechangeprocess,thecorrelationto

Lewin’sUnfreezephaseofhisthree-stepmodelisclear:thecurrentequilibriumhasto

bebrokenfirstinordertoallowforanewequilibriumtobeestablished.Stepsone,two,

threeandfour“helpdefrostahardenedstatusquo.[…]Whenyouneglectanyofthe

warm-up,ordefrostingactivities,yourarelyestablishasolidenoughbaseonwhichto

proceed(Kotter,Leadingchange,1996).“Defrosting”and“unfreezing”areveryeffective

words,perfectlyexpressingtheconceptoftransformationfrompastinertiatopresent

andfuturedynamism.

Afterestablishingasenseofurgency,creatingaguidingcoalition,developingavision,

andcommunicatingit,thegroundhasbeenlayedandtheprerequisitesarethere;the

nextstepistoempoweremployees,givingthemthetoolstotakeaction.Unfortunately,

ifprovidingnewtoolsisnoteasy,changingexistinginadequatetoolsisevenmore

difficult.Thesearethebarriersthatcanobstructemployeeempowerment(Kotter,

Leadingchange,1996)

BasedonExhibit1:BarrierstoEmpowerment,“LeadingChange”

Difficulty of action

Formal structures

Lack of skills

Personnel and

information sytems

Troublesome bosses

60

Formalorganizationalstructurescansometimesimpedetheactingoutofavision.For

instance,ifacompanyintendstobecomemorecustomerorientedthroughanincreased

allocationofresourcestoservices,itneedstodisruptthepreviousformalstructure

characterizedbythefragmentationofresourcesandresponsibilitiesforproductsand

services,separately.Thesolutioncouldbeputtingtogetherteamsresponsibleforboth

productandproduct-associatedserviceresources;acertainteamwouldbeinchargeof

acertainproduct-servicepackage.

Thelackofskillsissueissomethingthatneedstobeaddressedstraightaway;oldhabits,

routinesandworkenvironmenthardlyeverremainthesameafteranewvisionhas

beenspread.Culture,relationships,processesandtaskschange,andforpeopletobe

empoweredtoactoutthevisiontheyneedtraining.Now,dependingonthenatureof

changedifferenttypesofskillsetshavetobetaught.Inthecaseofthedevelopmentofa

newproductortheuseofnewtechnology,theskillsthatneedenhancingaremostlikely

engineeringskillsorcompetences,whichmayrequireastraight-forwardone-shot

trainingcourse;inthecaseofamajorbusinessmodelinnovationoradeepcultural

change,ontheotherhand,mattersarenotquitethateasy.Thosechangesoftenrequire

acontinuouscommitmentonbehalfofbothteachersandemployeesthataone-time

frontallecturesimplycannotprovide,andacontinuousandfrequenttrainingschedule

isneeded.Ofcourse,byprovidingtrainingandeducation,somedrawbacksmustbe

takenintoaccount:firstofall,trainingcomesatacost;notonlythecostofhiring

teachers(orpayingthirdteachingparties),butalsothecostofsubtractingworkforce

fromtheirownfunctions.Shorttermproductivitylossesarealmostinevitable,unless

trainingcoursesareheldafterregularworkschedulesorduringweekends,whichisa

riskyoptiontotakeintermsofemployees’stress,generaljobsatisfactionand

performancedecreaseduetotirednessandworkoverload(thatiswithoutconsidering

legalrestrictions).

Asfaraspersonnelsystemsareconcerned,theycandeeplyaffectthetransformation’s

successorfailure.Forinstance,anoldandinadequateHRmanagementsystemhastobe

replacedwithasystemmoreinlinewiththenewvision;inthecaseoftheshiftoffocus

towardscustomersandtheirneeds,evaluationandcompensationsystemsshould

includeparametersbasedonexternalindicators,themostobviousbeingcustomer

satisfaction.Evenhiringdecisionsshouldbebasedonanewsetofparameters,asfor

instancepropensitytoteamworkandcooperation,adaptiveandlearningcapabilities,

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communicatingandnegotiatingabilities,alongwiththenecessaryhardskills.

Lastbutnotleast,amajorobstacletoemployeeempowermentisrepresentedby

misguidedbosses,whohavetroubledigestingchangethemselves,letalonemaking

othersactingitout.AsmentionedatthebeginningofKotter’sstep“creatingaguiding

coalition”,thoseindividualsareveryrarelybadpeople;theirbeliefsandwaysare

simplyrootedinthepast,andtheylacktheunderstanding,creativityandopen-

mindednessthatbigtransformationsrequire.Thoseindividualsoftenadoptan

authoritariantypeofmanagementbasedoncontrolandcommand,andtheendresultis

punishmentfornotexecutingordersratherthanrewardforimplementing

transformation.Theproblemoftheprocrastinationandunwillingnesstodealwithsuch

individualsisasbigastheirpresenceblockingchange.Forreasonssuchguilt,problem

underestimationorevenaversiontodealwithsuchissues,itoftenhappensthattop

executivestendto“manipulate[thoseindividuals]intoacornerwheretheycanbe

containedorkilledoff”(Kotter,Leadingchange,1996).Instead,therightproactive

approachshouldbehonestdialogueandjoinedproblem-solving;ifthereisnowayof

reversingthesituation,changingmattersand“convert”theindividualbeingdisputed,

thelayoffisthemostrationalsolution.

GeneratingshorttermwinsisthenextstepinKotter’smodel.Assoonaschangestarts

tobeactivelyimplementedatalllevels,itneedstostartbeingshownthroughactual

results.Resultscantakevariousforms,notonlyfinancialinnature.Celebratingshort-

termwinsistheonlywaytokeepthelevelofbeliefhighevenaftertheinitial

enthusiasm.Watchingthenewvisionunfoldentirelycantakeseveralyears,andbeing

ontherighttrackdoeshardlyevermeanimmediateandgreatgratification:thesmall

yetpositiveresultskeepmotivationandsupporthighandthemomentumgoingwithin

theorganization.Moreover,averyimportantdirectconsequenceisthediscouragement

ofcritics,shuttingdownskepticismandmistrustingindividualsloweringthechancesof

successoftheentireprocess.

Kotteridentifiesthreeprerogativesofeffectiveshort-termwins;theymustbevisible,in

thattheyreachtheattentionofasmanypeoplewithintheorganizationaspossible;

unambiguous,inthattheydonotallowforargumentsovertheresult;relatedtochange

inaclearmanner,inthatitmustbeidentifiedasadirectorindirectconsequenceofthe

changeprocess(Kotter,Leadingchange,1996).Asfarasthetimingoftheshort-term

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resultsisconcerned,thereisnoexactdefinablemomentinwhichtheyneedtooccur.

However,Kotterproposesaspanoftimewithinwhichshorttermwinsshouldoccurand

becelebrated.Withinthefirsttwenty-sixmonthsatleasttworesultsshouldbe

celebrated;inparticular,Kotterdescribestheprocessassuccessfulwhenthefirstwin

occursataboutfourteenmonthsafterfirstimplementingchange,whereasasecondwin

hastooccuratabouttwenty-sixmonthsforchangenottomoveback.Ofcourse,these

numbersdon’tstaythesamebychangingthesizeofthecompanyimplementingchange:

thesmallerthecompany,theshorterthespanoftimerequiredtoproducethefirst

observableresults.

Thisleadstothenextstep:consolidatinggainsandproducingmorechange.“Whenever

youletupbeforethejobisdone,criticalmomentumcanbelostandregressionmay

follow”(Kotter,Leadingchange,1996).Thetransformedpracticeshavetobekept

active,aswellasimplementedevenfurther.Upuntilthemomentwhenchangehas

finallypermeatedtheorganization’sculture,thereisalwaystheriskoflettingallthe

effortvanishbyallowingchangetomovebackwards,orby(evenunconsciously)

reducingattention,enthusiasmandactiveengagement.Thepreviouslyreachedshort-

termwinsallowforanincreasedcredibilityamongemployees,whichinturnallowsto

takeonnewandmoreambitiouschallenges;theproducedwinsconsolidatepeople’s

participationtochange,whichinturnleadstothembeingfurtherempowered,

motivated,satisfied.Iftheaforementionedeventshappen,andthesenseofurgencyis

constantlykepthighbytheguidingcoalition,thechancesofsucceedinggoup

drastically.Atthispoint,thefinalstepremains.

Anchoringthenewapproachesintocultureimpliesthat,atthisparticularpointofthe

changeprocess,theoldandobsoletecultureandpracticeshavebeenremovedfromthe

organization;anecessary,yetinsufficientresult.Thetransformationwillonlybe

completewhenchangegrowsrootssodeepthattheoldwaysandhabitsareforgotten.

Anorganization’sculturerefers,accordingtoKotter,toasetofsharedvaluesandnorms

ofbehaviorwithinagroupofpeople;itisaverypowerfulfactor,abletoinfluence

people’sbehaviorsandactionspervasively.Thefirstreasoncultureisdifficulttochange

isthefactthatitisinvisible(oratleastclosetoit);afterthat,cultureistheresultof

yearsandoftendecadesofactivitywithinanorganization,anditischallengingfor

peopletoevenrealizehowmuchtheirthoughtsandactionsareaffectedbyit.Kotter

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makessomeexamplesoffactorscomposingculture(Kotter&Heskett,Corporate

CultureandPerformance,1992):

BasedonExhibit1:“ComponentsofCorporateCulture:SomeExamples”,LeadingChange

Culturalchangecomesattheendoftheprocess:“Culturechangesonlyafteryouhave

successfullyalteredpeople’sactions,afterthenewbehaviorproducessomegroup

benefitforaperiodoftime,andafterpeopleseetheconnectionbetweenthenew

actionsandtheperformanceimprovement”(Kotter,Leadingchange,1996).

ThecommonalitiesbetweenKotter’smodelandtheaforementionedliteratureon

changemanagementarequiterelevant.Kotter,however,adoptsamorepractical

approach,abletoconsidermanyifnotalloftheaspectsdescribedinpreviousworksin

thechangemanagementliterature.

EventhoughitistruethattherearesubstantialdifferencesbetweenSMEsandthe

ratherstructuredcompanieschangemanagementmodelshavebeenstudiedandused

for,therearesomefactorsmakingtheapplicationofsuchmodelsparticularlysuitedto

beappliedtosmallerenterprisesaswell,oneofthembeingtheculturalelement.For

instance,thestrongpresenceofthefoundingfamilyand/ortheownerofthefirm

determinesaveryspecificsetofvaluesthatarewithoutanydoubttransmittedthrough

theorganizationovertheyears,insuchawaythattheypermeateeachfunctionand

activity.Inthissense,changemanagementacknowledgesthecrucialaspectofthe

organizationalculture,recognizingtheroleofpeopleasmaindriversofanychange.

64

Furthermore,thegreaterflexibilityandresponsivenessassociatedwithSMEsin

comparisonwithbiggerfirmsmakesthemmoreadeptatimplementingchange.

Therealchallengeinrecentyearsistheoneassociatedwithsocialandenvironmental

pressuresfromandwithinthegloballandscape.Thesmallandmedium-sizedcompanies

describedinchapterone,displayinganinternationalcharacteranditsemblematictype

ofmanagementasoneoftheirmostdistinguishingfeatures,representakeydriverfor

globaltransformation.Weatherthesecompaniesadoptatraditionalapproachbasedon

exportexclusivelyortheexploitationofkeypartnershipswithexternalactors,they

possesstheknowledgeandcompetenciestocompeteondozensofforeignmarkets,

whichmeansadaptingtothedifferentcustomerneedsandcultural,regulativeand

politicalenvironments.Asustainability-orientedbehaviornotonlygivesaccesstothe

cooperationwithstrategicpartnersandsuppliersrequiringspecificprerequisites,butit

allowsfirmstoaccessspecificmarketsthatmightcurrentlybeoff-limitsforcompetition.

65

Chapter3:Changeandsustainability:MEP

3.1ResearchMethodology

ThroughthedirectobservationandanalysisofMEP,anItalianmedium-sizedcompany

operatingintheindustrialmachineryindustry,chapterthreehastheaimof

demonstratingthatthecompany’swayofconductingitsactivityaswellasthe

transformationstheorganizationunderwentoverthelastfewyearshavegenerateda

businessmodelthatissustainableoverthelongrun.

Theconceptofsustainabilitytakenasreferenceisthoroughlyexplainedinchapterone,

coveringeconomic,socialandenvironmentalvaluecreation.

Theempiricalanalysisofthesinglecasestudyissupportedbytheliteraturereviewof

chaptersoneandtwo,whichexaminethedistinctivetraitsoftheItalianSmalland

MediumSizedEnterprisesandtheevolutionanddescriptionofseveralchange

managementmodelsasaframeworktoorganizationaltransformation,respectively.

Morethanoneofthedescribedmodelsrepresentthekeytounderstandtheprocessof

organizationalchangeandatooltopossiblyimplementfurthertransformations.

Chapterthreehasbeenwrittenafterathree-monthinternshipinMEPS.p.A.(April17th

toJuly19th,2019),whichcreatedtheopportunitytogatherallthenecessarydatato

supporttheanswertotheaboveresearchquestion.

ThecasestudymethodusedasresearchtoolistheonedescribedinRobertK.Yin’s

“CaseStudyResearch–DesignandMethods”(2014).Thedatacollectioncomprehends

severalsourcesofevidence(Yin,2014):

• Documentation:calendars,e-mails,notes,MoM(minutesofmeeting),written

reports,administrativedocuments,internalrecords,formalstudies,evaluations,

articlesappearingonmassmedia,newspapersandmagazines.Such

documentationhasbeencarefullyused,thankstotheawarenessofthebiasthat

couldaffecttheirobjectivity;toovercometheobstacle,othersourcestestifying

thefindingshavebeenused.

• Archivalrecords,mainlycomputerfiles:organizationalrecords,maps,charts.

Theconditionsunderwhichsuchrecordswereproducedhasbeenascertainedin

ordertoinvestigatetheiraccuracy;insomecases,theyhavebeenupdated

accordingly.

66

• Interviews:thiskindofsourcehasbeenusedduringtheinternship.Specifically,

theywereguidedconversationsratherthanstructuredstreamofquestions:

unstructuredinterviews(Weiss,1994).Thoseinterviewshavebeenrecorded,

guaranteeingamoreaccuraterenditionthannotes.Afterbeingtranscribed,the

saidrecordingshavebeendeleted.

• Directobservation:duringtheinternshipperiod,theopportunityfordirect

observationofthestudiedphenomenawascreated;theobjectsofobservationis

representedbymeetings,sidewalkactivities,classrooms(coursesandlectures

takingplaceintheinternalbusinessschool)andfactorywork.

• Participantobservation:itrepresentsaspecifictypeofdirectobservation,in

whichtheobserverhasanactiverolewithintheenvironmentorthespecific

actionsbeingstudied.Thisparticularsourceofevidencehasbeenused

extensively:theactualhiringthattookplaceassoonastheinternshipcametoan

endgavetheopportunitytogatherdataandinformationwhilebeingdirectly

involvedintheobservedphenomena.Theseincludeactiveparticipationin

meetings,anactiveroleintheimplementationoforganizationalchange

processesandinitiatives,directpresenceintheproductionfacility.Furthermore,

attendingseveralcoursestakingplaceintheinternalacademygaveimportant

insightsontheorganizationalculture.Moreover,theattendanceatvarious

sustainability-basedeventsallowedforthedeeperunderstandingofthe

investigatedsustainability-orientedchange,“Disruptivestrategyand

sustainability”beingoneofthem,organizedby“Saloned’Impresa”,aninteractive

workshopthatinvolvedthedirectparticipationofprofessionalsand

entrepreneurstoactivedebates.

67

BasedonFigure4.2:ConvergenceandNon-convergenceofMultipleSourcesofEvidence,“CaseStudy

Research–DesignandMethods”

Duringthethree-monthinternshipthemaintasksallowedforthecollectionofdataand

eventhecreationofevidencelaterusedasfurthersupportingdocumentation.Such

tasksinitiallyinvolvedthewritingofdocumentsintroducinganddescribingthe

company,itshistory,itsstrengthsanditsbrand.Allthiswiththepurposeofbuildinga

partnershipwithkeyexternalactorstofurtherincreasevisibility,brandawarenessand

reputation.Moreover,theparticipationtointer-functionalmeetingsandthe

involvementinnewprojectsallowednotonlytoobserveandgettoknowtheinter-

functionaldynamics,butalsotograsptheessenceofthecorporatestrategicdirection.

Anotherelementinfavouroftheconstantandtruthfuldirectobservationwas

representedbytheoffice’slocation:theMEPBusinessSchool,keyentityinthe

organizationalchangeprocessandcontinuousimprovement,geographicallyveryclose

tothemajorityoftheinterviewees:

Specifically,theconductedunstructuredinterviewswereaddressedtokeyactorswithin

thefirm.Thesearetheselectioncriteriathatwereadoptedtochoosetheinterviewees:

• Position:theintervieweesneededtobeinapositionallowingthemtohavea

deepunderstandingofthecompany’sflowsandprocesseswhilemaintaininga

broaderviewoftheoverallstrategicdirection;

• Knowledge:theintervieweesneededtohavethenecessaryknowledgetobeable

toproviderelevantanswerstothequestionsaskedorthemattersbeing

analysed;

68

• Experience:theintervieweesneededtohaveatleastafewyearsofexperience

withinthefirm,inordertobeabletodescribeeventsandpossiblychangesin

retrospect;

Thesearetheactorsidentifiedtoconducttheunstructuredinterviews:

• Dr.VitoRotondi:CEO&ManagingDirectorofMEP;

• Ms.MichelaDelFabro:CEOofACM,MEP’sR&Dpartner;

• Mr.AndreaMarinoCerrato:ICT&MGNTSystems-MEPBusinessSchool

Director;

• Dr.AnnaPizzale:QualityManager;

• Mr.ClaudioMiconi:HSESustainabilityManager.

Thequalitativeandunstructurednatureoftheconductedinterviewshasgenerateda

quiteunconstrainedandfree-flowingdiscourse.Eventhoughaseriesofrelatively

explicitquestionshavebeenusedtoguidethesaiddiscourse,dependingonthe

interviewee,thenatureofthegatheredevidencecanhardlybeconsideredadialogue,

whichwouldimplyamorepervasiveparticipationonbehalfoftheinterviewer.

Theevidencehasbeenusedtofurtherstrengthentheexpressedconcepts.

69

3.2MEP–distinctivefeatures

M.E.P.S.p.A.,whichstandsforMacchineElettronichePiegatrici(SocietàperAzioni)isan

Italianmedium-sizedenterpriselocatedinReanadelRojale,Italy.FoundedonFebruary

8th1966,itsactivity,whichstartedoneyearlater,consistsoftheideation,design,

prototyping,engineering,productionandmarketingofrebar(reinforcingbar)-

processingindustrialmachinery,plantsandequipment.TheGroupoperatesinthe

followingmarketsegments:cutandbend-rebarprocessingequipment,coldrolling,

straightening,cutting,precastengineering,welding&handlinganddownstream

engineeredproductionprocessinmeshweldingplants.Itsmissionistoofferreliable,

long-lasting,safeandinnovativeproducts,alongwithpreandafter-salesassistanceand

services.

TheReanadelRojaleHeadquarterscounts197employees(M.E.P.S.p.A.:147;M.E.P.

MW:29;A.C.M.:21);however,thenumberraisestoabout250employeeswhen

consideringthegroup’sglobally-spreadsubsidiaries.

Undermanyaspects,M.E.P.(fromhereonMEP)representsthemedium-sizedcompany

whosedistinctivefeatureshavebeendescribedinchapterone.Firstofall,the

70

characteristicsidentifiedbyHermannSimoninhisidentificationoftheHidden

ChampionsfullyapplytoMEP,inthat:

• itisleaderintheworldmarket,possessingamarketshareof23%-24%,ranking

amongthetopfivecompetitorsworldwide;

• itssalesrevenueisunder1billionUSD.Infact,salesrevenuesarewithinthe

rangereferredtobyLuigiSerio,too,whichisbetween16and355million€.

MEP’sturnoverwas71,761million€in2018(consolidated:76,271million€);

• itissomewhathidden,inthatthecompanydoesnothaveahighpublicvisibility

orahighprofile.ThereasonforthatcanbefoundinthenichemarketMEP

operatesin,mostlyunknownoutsidetheboundariesoftheB2Bheavyindustrial

machineryindustry.

MEPhasinrecentyearswitnessedasteadygrowthinsalesvolume,asshowninthe

graphbelow:

In2013MEP’srevenuewas58,05Mio€,whereasby2018salesrevenueswentupby

13,711Mio€,reaching71761Mio€.AsfarastheEBITDAmarginisconcerned,itwas

1,967Mio€in2013,whereasby2018itwentupby9,917Mio€,reaching11,884Mio€.

71761

0

5

10

15

20

25

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

70000

80000

90000

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

%

€ / 1

000

Revenues - Ebitda

Revenues EBITDA Margin Ebitda % Lineare Ebitda %

71

Moreover,MEP’sfinancialstabilityhasincreasedinrecenttimesaswell,thankstoa

steadydecreaseintheNetFinancialDebt/Shareholder’sEquityRatio,asshowninthe

graphbelow:

TheNetFinancialDebtwas27,248Mio€in2013,whereasby2018itwentdownby

7,113Mio€,reaching20,135Mio€.Shareholders’Equity,ontheotherhand,was

28,614Mio€in2013,andwentupby5,862Mio€,reaching34,476Mio€in2018.

Thesepositivetrendshavebeenmadepossiblethankstoanimprovementofthe

relationshipwithbanksandotherfinancialinstitutionsaswellasanincreaseofthe

availabilityofshareholders’equity.

Thecompanyisfamily-owned.Specifically,thefoundingfamilyisnotonlyincontrolof

ownership,butthemembersplayanactiverolewithintheorganization,fulfilling

managerialpositionsaswell.Theentrepreneurialtraitsinsidethefirmaretherefore

verystrongandplayagreatroleintheconservationoftheinnovation-drivennatureof

thefirm.Ononehandthefamily’spresencekeepsrepresentingandguaranteeinga

specificsetofvalues,passion,vision,organizationalcultureandmaintenanceofkey

relationshipswithstrategicpartnersorclients.Ontheotherhand,thereisastrong

managerialpresenceaswell,startingfromthetop.Asmentionedinchapterone,the

VUCA(Volatility,Uncertainty,ComplexityandAmbiguity)oftheexternalenvironment

havebecomesuch,thatthepresenceofeducatedandpreparedprofessionalshas

becomeunavoidable.Theinteractionbetweenfamilyandmanagementisstrong,andthe

-0,4

-0,2

0

0,2

0,4

0,6

0,8

1

1,2

1,4

-20000

-10000

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021

€ / 1

000

NFD - Equity

Net Financial Debt Shareholders' Equity

NFD/Shareholders' Equity Linear NFD/Shareholders' Equity

72

competenciesofbothcomplementeachother,inordertoreachanoptimumlevelfirm

governance.“Dr.VitoRotondiandIcomplementeachother.Heisapuremanager,Iam

not.Ihavemanagerialresponsibilities,butIalsohaveothertasks:Irepresentthe

company’sownership.Wehavebothbeenabletodoourbestwheneverwejoined

forces”(Ms.MichelaDelFabro,memberofthefoundingFamilyandCEOofACM).

3.2.1Marketstructure

Asfarasthemarketisconcerned,itfitsHermannSimon’sdescriptionmentionedin

chapterone:itisanichemarket,inthatitispopulatedbyfewcompetitors.Specifically,

themarketMEPoperatesincanbedefinedasadifferentiated(orimperfect)oligopoly,

inwhichtheproductsmanufacturedbyeachcompetitorareclosesubstitutesofeach

other,andyettheyallpresenttheirowndistinctivefeatures,makingthemdifferentto

oneanother(Krugman,Obstfeld,&Melitz,2012).Theoligopolyischaracterizedby

dynamism,inducedbyinnovation:fewcompetitorswithhighbarrierstoentry

representedmostlybytechnologyandproduct-specificknowhow.Thesizeofthe

marketinwhichtheGroupoperatesisthefollowing:

050

100150200250300350400450500

Rebar Cold rolling Straightening,cutting

Welding, handling

300

70 40

200

Euro

Mio

Machinery and equipment for the reinforcing steel industry

Market

73

Asshowninthefigureabove,thesizeofthe“machineryequipmentforthereinforcing

steelindustry”marketis610millioneuros,abouthalfofwhichisrepresentedby

“Rebar”.Asmentionedatthebeginningofchapterthree,MEPranksamongthetop

playersworldwide,asshownbelow:

PedaxEVG

Schilt

TJK

ProgressOscam

MEP

Schnell

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Rebar Processing Equipment

(€ 300 Mio.)

Market Leadership

SchnellProgress

MEP

E-bend

TJKSchlatter EVG

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Reinforcement Mesh Equipment

(€ 200 Mio.)

Market Competition

74

MEPoperatesinalloftheabovemarkets,whichgivesafirstinsightonwhatthestrategy

adoptedbytheGroupis.Asmentionedinchapterone,therearetwomaindimensions

withreferencetotheapproachtotheendcustomers.Afocusedstrategyisrepresented

bythepresenceofarangeofvariationsofthesameproduct,orthedegreetowhichthe

consumers’needsaremet.MEPhasgonefurtherthanthemereproductionanddelivery

ofaproducttotheendcustomer;rather,thecompanyengagesintheso-called

TechnologySolutionProvision(TSP),atechnologicalintegratedsupplybaseduponthe

customer’sspecificrequirementsandrequests,thatimpliesadeepinvolvementofthe

customerhimselfinthedesignoftherightsolution.MEPtherebyembracestheconcept

of“servitization”:solutionsaredelivered,ratherthanmachines.Anunfocusedstrategy,

instead,referstothebreadthoftheproductlineandthereforethenumberofdifferent

manufacturedproducts;thisstrategyaimsatincreasingthelevelofproduct

diversification.AlthoughMEPhasadoptedafocusedstrategyinrecentyears,meeting

theconsumers’needsintheirentirety,ithasindeeddevelopedavarietyofdifferent

products,too,therebyexpandingbothbreadthanddepth.Thisstrategicchoiceallowed

thecompanytoreducethelevelofdependenceononemarketalone,withoutentirely

exposingitselftothecompetitiveriskofoperatingondifferentmarketsegments,atthe

sametime.

MEPwasthefirstcompanytoenterthemarket,patentingtheveryfirstautomatic

stirrupbendingmachinetheworldhadeverseenin1967.Beingthefirstentrant,the

companyinitiallybenefitedfromfirstmoveradvantages,likeforinstancethe

establishmentofthebrand,alongwithearlyreputationandloyalty.Furthermore,MEP

benefitedfrommonopolyrents,atfirst:customers’expectationscouldbenotonly

monitoredbutshaped,andtheabsenceofearlycompetitionallowedforlessstrict

pricing,guaranteeinghigherreturns.Needlesstosay,MEPcertainlyheldtechnological

leadershipfromtheveryfirstyearofactivity,therebybuildingitsprimarysourceof

futurecompetitiveadvantageovertheyears.Bythetimecompetitorsstartedtoenter

themarket,barrierstoentrylikecorecompetencies,capabilities,knowledgeand

patentswereestablished,makingimitationdifficult.Asmentionedbefore,MEPhas

increasedboththebreadthandthedepthofitsproductsovertime;theincreasingly

complexproductionprocesscausedtheshifttowardsalessvertically-integrated

structure,drivenbythenecessitytooutsourcetheproductionofthevastmajorityofthe

mechanical,oil-hydraulicandelectroniccomponents.Therelationshipwithkey

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suppliershasovertimedevelopedintopartnership,increasingthelevelofmutual

cooperationandtrust.ThroughthismechanismMEPexploitedanotherfirstmover

advantage:thepre-emptionofscarceresources,representedbykeysuppliers.

Furthermore,beingthefirstonthemarketguaranteesanincreaseinbuyerswitching

costs:thelongertherelationshipandthemorethemutualknowledgeandtrustbetween

thefinalcustomerandtheproducer(MEP),themorethecostthecustomerfacesifthe

decisionwasmadetoswitchtoanothersupplier,intermsofboththetimeneededto

findanothersupplierandthedifficultytoobtainthesameoratleastsimilarproducts

andbuyingconditions,nottomentionthelossoftheadvantagederivedfromthe

specificknowledgeofthecustomer’sneedsandpreferencesonbehalfoftheprevious

supplier.Finally,thefirstmovergainsadvantagefromtheincreasingreturnsto

adoption:themoreaMEPproductisadoptedwithinthemarket,themorecustomer

feedbackcanbegatheredinordertoimprovetheproductitself.Thehigherreturns

derivingfromtheinitialmonopolisticpositionhavebeeninvestedinsuchproductand

processimprovements.

Brandawarenessandreputationarecertainlycrucialaspects,developedfromtheearly

stagesofthecompany’sactivityandfacilitatedbytheclose-to-zeroinitialcompetition.

ThebrandrepresentsforMEPaprimaryincomegeneratingasset,entailingthefeatures

thatdescribetheverycoreofthefirmanditscompetitiveadvantage-generatingtraits:

technology,tradition,experience,innovation,reliability,allidentifyingMEPasthebest

inclass.Thecoexistenceofthepastandthefuture,representedbothbyexperienceand

innovation,areperfectlyembeddedintothecompanymotto“thehistoryofinnovation”

andthebusinessmotto“atraditionofinnovation”:“InnovationisinourDNA;thefuture

challengeistocreateaninnovationthatissustainableforhumanbeingsandthe

environmentaswell.Itisauniqueandexcitingopportunitythatjustwasnottherein

thepast”(Ms.MichelaDelFabro,memberofthefoundingFamilyandCEOofACM).

Eventhoughthebrandisstrongandthevaluesassociatedtoitare,too,MEPhasin

recentyearsunderstoodtheneedtoactivelyengageineffectivecommunication,fully

recognizingtheimportanceoftheMarketingfunction,eveninthebusinesstobusiness

industry.InordertoimprovetherelevanceoftheMarketingfunction,anInter-

functionalMarketingCommitteewasformed,withthetaskofdiscussing,approvingand

implementingnewMarketing-orientedinterventionsandinitiatives,inordertoimprove

brandvalueandawareness,increasebrandequity,maximizefirmtrustworthinessand

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ultimatelyattractnewcustomersandincreasesalesaswell.Therealizationthatbynot

adoptingamoremarketing-orientedapproachmanyvalue-generatingopportunities

couldbelostledtothebirthofasenseofurgencytodevelopaMarketingstrategy,based

uponaninboundratherthanoutboundapproach.Thefirststeptowardstheactual

implementationwastocreatetheguidingcoalitionrepresentedbytheinter-functional

Marketingcommittee,inordertoempowerandtrainexistingandnewemployeesto

efficientlyuseinternalandexternalcommunicationinstruments,oncethedesiredvision

hadbeenspread.Thisprocess,alongwithothers,canbedescribedwithinthechange

frameworkproposedbyKotterinchaptertwo.

Asfarashumanresourcesmanagementisconcerned,MEPperfectlydisplaysthe

people-orientedtypeofapproach,inwhichpeopleareconsideredindeedthetrue

driversofvalue-creation.Theabilitytolinkpeopletotheobtainmentofthecompany’s

objectivesthereforebecomescrucial:“Thewinningelementhasinrecentyearsbeen

representedbythecreationofalinkbetweenindividualbehaviour,organizational

behaviourandthecompany’sgoals,allowingMEPtoreachseveralformalobjectives

throughwhichthecompanyhasfounditsorganizationalidentity”(Dr.VitoRotondi,CEO

&ManagingDirectorofMEP).

MEP’sknow-howbeingamongtheP.I.G.A.(PrimaryIncomeGeneratingAssets)means

thattheuncodifiedknowledgeheldbypeopleisthekeytothecompany’sactivity,

successandleadership.TheotherPrimaryIncomeGeneratingAssetsarethealmostone

hundredregisteredpatents,thebrand,technology,theaftermarket,therelationship

withtheclients,goodwillandtheoverallorganizationalculture.Thehumancapital

representsthecorevalueofthefirm;nonetheless,knowledgecannotbeconsideredas

staticandthereforeitcannotbeimmobilized.Knowledgeisacontinuouslyevolving

asset.Infact,afirm’scompetitiveadvantagecanhardlybedefinedbyknowledge;rather,

itisderivedfromitscapacitytoevolve,transform,reuseandcreatenewknowledge,

throughbothcompetence-enhancingandcompetence-destroyinginnovation.

3.2.2Internationalcharacter

Lastbutnotleast,MEPdisplaysaverysolidinternationalcharacter,mainlyrepresented

bythenatureofthecompany’ssalesvolume,whichwellexceedsthealreadyremarkable

numbersidentifiedbyLuigiSerioandmentionedinchapterone.Specifically,87,5%of

MEP’sturnoverderivesfromforeignmarkets,whicharereachedthroughdirectsalesor

77

throughtheGroupleader’ssubsidiaries,guaranteeingsalesinover128Europeanand

non-Europeancountries:“Thecompanycouldneverderiveitsentireturnoverfroma

domesticmarketalone;asinglemarketwouldbetoosmallforustostayinbusinessand

generateprofit”(Dr.VitoRotondi,CEO&ManagingDirectorofMEP).

Todate,about11000machineshavebeeninstalledallaroundtheworld,andabout82%

ofthemachinesproducedupuntilnowarestillfunctioning.

Internationalmarketsarereachedthroughbothexportandthewholly-owned

subsidiaries,salesrepresentativesandagents.Specifically,thecompositionofMEP

Groupisasfollows:

• MEPS.p.A.isthegroup’sheadquarters;

• MEPMW(Mesh&Weld)s.r.l.isspecializedintheproductionofMeshWelding

equipmentandplants;

• PROMOSTARs.r.l.isspecializedintheproductionofcoldrollinglines;

• MEPNorthAmericaCorp.ensuressalesandservicesintheAmericaGreaterUS

area(USA,Canada,Mexico);

• MEPIBERICAS.L.ensuressalesandservicesintheIberianmarket;

• MEPASIACo.LtdensuressalesandservicesintheEastAsia-GreaterChina&

Japanarea;

• MEPBRAZILLTDAensuressalesandservicesintheBrazilianmarket;

• MEPFRANCES.A.ensuressalesandservicesintheFrenchmarket;

• INNSTAHLTYROLG.m.b.H.ensuressalesandservicesintheDACHarea;

87,5%

12,5%

Sales

Foreign markets Domestic Market

78

• MEPPOLSKASp.ensuressalesandservicesinthePolishmarket;

• MEPVOSTOKLtdensuressalesandservicesintheCommonwealthof

IndependentStates(CIS);

• S.C.SAVJETOVANJEIUSLUGEd.o.o.ensuressalesandservices;

• StrojoMetald.o.o.ensuressalesandservices.

Moreover,ACM(AutomatismiCostruzioniMeccaniche)isMEP’spartner,specializedin

Research&Development.

79

Someoftheabove-mentionedentitiesareactualfully-ownedsubsidiariesderivedfrom

agreenfieldtypeofFDI(ForeignDirectInvestment),whileothersarepartners:an

exampleofthefirstisrepresentedbyMEPNorthAmerica(wholly-owned:100%),while

anexampleofthesecondisrepresentedbyPROMOSTAR(partially-owned:18,80%).

EventhoughMEPdoesnotfitintothesizestandardstobedefinedas“big”,intermsof

bothemployeesandturnover,thestronginternationalcharacterandthemarketshare

wouldconvinceotherwise:“Thedimensionalargumentcanbemisleading.Inmy

opinion,havingan80millionturnoverwithina600millionmarketisbetterthanbeing

bigandyethaveasmallsharewithinanimmensemarket.[…]Weconductbusinessin

128countries,rangingfromBraziltoRussia,allthewaytoAustraliaandKorea”(Dr.

VitoRotondi,CEO&ManagingDirectorofMEP).

80

3.2.3Empoweringpeople:theMEPBusinessSchool

TheMEPBusinessSchoolwasfoundedonFebruary8th,2016,after50yearsfromthe

foundationofthecompany.Ithasbeenthekeytoempowerpeoplewithinthe

organizationeversince,butithasanotherimportanttask,too:itisoneofthemain

actorsresponsiblefortheimplementationofchangeacrossalltheorganizational

functionsandlevels,representingthelinkbetweentopmanagement,lower

managementandworkers.AccordingtoAndreaMarinoCerrato,DirectorofMEP

BusinessSchool,knowledgeisoneofthemostvaluableassetstheorganization

possesses.TheMEPBusinessSchoolhastheaimoffurthervaluingthehumancapital

anditscreativepowerthroughthedevelopmentoftechnologicalandorganizational

competencies.Thishasdifferenttypesofutility:analysingdifferentprofessionalfigures,

implementingthelevelofcommunicationbetweenthemandcreatingalinkbetween

peopleandtheexternalenvironment,inordertoimprovethecompany’soverall

performance.However,whenitcomestochange,thedevelopmentoftechnological,

technicalandorganizationalcompetenciesisnotenough;inordertoimplementchange,

peoplemustunderstandtheurgencyandbeawareofthenecessity:“Theawarenessan

individualcanonlyacquirethrougheducationistheoneelementallowingforchangeto

actuallyhappen”(Mr.AndreaMarinoCerrato,ICT&MGNTSystems-MEPBusiness

SchoolDirector).

Theinternalacademyhasbeenveryactiveoverthepastfouryears,organizingoverone

hundredcourses,addressingover560individualsthankstotheeffortsof43teachers

andlecturers,constantlyengagingintheimplementationofcontinuousimprovement

(kaizen).Itisthekeytofreepeoplefromthecompetencytrap,teachthemhowtothink

outoftheboxinordertocreatethesparkofinnovation.Perfectlydescribingtheopen

innovationmodel(chapterone),theacademyorganizesopen-days,workshops,practical

trainingandactivities,collaboratingwithsuppliers,universities(UniversitàBocconi,

PolitecnicodiMilano,UniversitàdegliStudidiUdine,UniversitàdegliStudidiTrieste),

BorsaItalianaaswellasotherpartnerssuchasCiscoandBoschTEC.

81

TheOpenDaysinvolvedmorethan25lecturers/speakersandmorethan150

participants;theEventsinvolvedthan25lecturers/speakersandmorethan500

participants;theCoursesinvolved,asmentionedabove,morethan560participantsand

over43teachers/speakers.Lecturesrarelyconsistofameretheoreticalapproach;in

thevastmajorityofcases,theoryisputintopractice:“Withintraining,theoryaloneis

neversufficient;experienceisneededaswell,whichcanbeacquiredthroughpractical

understandingonly”(Mr.AndreaMarinoCerrato,MEPBusinessSchoolDirector).

Lecturersare:

• thirdpartiesandexternalprofessionals:(I.R.E.S.Fvg,ConfindustriaUdine,C.C.I.A.

Udine,Saloned’Impresa,McKinseyLEFandothers);

• internalmanagement(headsoftheorganizationalfunctions);

• suppliers(e.g.BoschTec,CiscoSystems,BureauVeritas,FestoAcademy,Savino

DelBeneSpaGlobalLogistics,TecnestSpa,EurosystemsSpa,PuntosicurezzaSrl,

ElectroGraphics,ITRSystem,TecnoAntincendio,Sine,SeaGruppo).

Thereasonforsuchdeepinteractionwithexternalinstitutions,partnersandsuppliersis

thecreationofthesubstratumonwhichorganizationalchangeandinnovationcanbe

built:

MEP Business School

Open Days:- Bosch ed.2017 -

2019- Atos Technology

Days- R&D Meetings:

UNITS, UNIUD

- Recruitment Day

Events- Fabbriche Aperte 2016-17-18

- Borsa Italiana - Elite Group- Lean Experience Fsctory -

McKinsey, Cisco, Saiv- Progettare il Futuro -

Confindustria, BancaIntesa- Salone d'Impresa

- Osservatorio PMI - Global -Consulting, IC Partners

- Fiera del Lavoro - 2017-18-19

Courses- Governance

- HR Development - Technology - Production

- Art- Supply Chain

- Comm. & Social- Marketing - Linguistic

- Health & Safety

82

Asdescribedinchaptertwo,itoftenhappensthatorganizationalchangeisbornatthe

higherlevels,anditislaterspreaddownstreamthankstoaguidingcoalition,ateamof

changeagentsguidedbyaleader.Fromthere,thenextstepistoinvolveemployeesand

workersinsuchawaythattheyrecognize,accept,promoteandimplementthe

transformationsthemselves.Educationbecomestheengineofchange,learning

processesandculture,promotinginnovationandallowingforboththeoptimal

exploitationofexistingknowledgeandtheexplorationprocessofuntappedknowledge

andopportunities.Theknowledge,know-howandcompetencedevelopedoverthe

yearshavebeeninthepastandaregoingtobeintheyearstocomethecompany’s

primarystrengthsanddistinctivetraits.Itistruethatinnovationispromotedinternally

thankstotheMBS(MEPBusinessSchool).However,thesourceofinnovationcanhardly

beconsideredtheorganizationitself,exclusively.Thecollaborationwithexternalactors

belongingtothevaluechainhasgivenagreatcontributiontotheempowermentof

peopleandtotheimprovementoftheircompetencies:“Asuppliercanbecomea

valuablepartner,workingwithussidebyside.Wehaveengagedinseveral

collaborationswithexternalactorsinthepast,withthefinalaimofdeveloping

incrementalandinnovativesolutionsforourproducts.Wethinkthisistherightpath”

(Dr.AnnaPizzale,QualityManagerofMEP).Theopeninnovationmodelthereforecalls

forthenecessitytoabandonself-reliance,openinguptoexternalcontamination.

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Thecompany’stechnologicalandtechnicalcompetencesmayhavebeenenoughtonot

onlystayinbusinessbutcreatealeadershippositionevenaftertheestablishmentof

competition;today,however,thenewexigenciesandcomplexityimposedbythemarket,

thatisthechangeofconsumers’needsandtheconsequentincreasedcomplexityofthe

outputdelivered,broughtinturntothenecessitytorethinkinternalorganization,too.

ThekeyexampleisrepresentedbytheaforementionedTechnologySolutionProvision:

eventhoughthetechnologicaleffortgivesbirthtotheproductitself,itneedstobeput

sidebysidewithamultitudeofprocesseswhichinturnmustbebackedbytheinternal

structureandorganization,asforinstancepreandafter-salesassistance,servicesand

sparepartsdelivery,constantinformationflowswithclients,attentiontopeculiar

necessitiesoruniquerequests.Whilecomplexityincreases,yesterdayandtoday’s

scenariosshareonecommonandcrucialelement,representedbythehumancapital.

Thatiswhyempoweringpeoplecanbeconsideredasourceofcompetitiveadvantage,

anelementofdifferentiation,andthatiswhytheimportanceoftheMEPBusinessSchool

cannotbeoverstated.Whileproductcomplexityismanagedbyexperttechnicians,

businesscomplexityhastobemanagedbycompetentmanagers.Thedescribedscenario

impliesanimportantshiftfromapurelytechnology-driventoacombinedtechnology

andmanagement-drivenbusiness.Managerialcompetencescanthereforenotbeabsent.

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3.3Sustainablechange:implementationandstrategicdirection

Itisclearthattheabovedistinctivetraitsdepictamedium-sizedcompanythatpresents

atechnology-based,customer-orientedandinnovation-orientedbusinessmodel,

allowingMEPtoleadandexcelonthemarket.

Overthepastfiveyears,thecompanystartedaninternalinnovationprocess,

comprehendingavarietyofaspectsasinternalorganization,amoremarketing-oriented

strategywhichledinturninanincreaseofthecompany’spublicvisibility,renewed

corporatefinance,corporategovernance,andlastbutnotleast,anincreaseofthe

attentiontowardsenvironmentalandsocialissues.Suchimportantchangesguaranteed

asteadygrowthoverthepastyears,intermsofbrandreputation,brandawareness,

salesrevenueandprofits,whichinturngeneratedanewallocationofresourcesin

termsofhumancapitalandnewattentiontoaspectswithinthedailyactivity,previously

partiallyorcompletelyunknown.

Suchkeytransformationshavebeenacknowledgedandrewardedonseveraloccasions:

• December2014:MEPisassignedthefirstAntitrustStaroftheLegalityRating

releasedbyAGCM(AutoritàGarantedellaConcorrenzaedelMercato);

• April2015:MEPS.p.A.participatesintheELITEPROJECTatLSEG,Borsa

Italiana;

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• February2016:MEPobtainstheUNIENISO9001CertificationbyBureau

Veritas,inaccordancewiththerequirementsoftheQualityManagementSystem

standards;

• March2017:MEPisawarded“LeFontiAwards”forTechnologicalInnovationin

theindustrialmanufacturingsector;

• May2017:ELITECERTIFICATE,BorsaItaliana;

• October2017:MEPisawardedthe“PremioAmbrogioLorenzetti2017”for

CorporateGovernanceandSustainability;

• December2017:MEPparticipatestothe“ELITEBASKETBOND”,inpartnership

withBancaFinint;

• March2018:MEPisawarded“LeFontiAwards”forFinancialExcellencein

BorsaItaliana;

• July2018:MEPisassignedtheA++BehavioralAssessmentandtheA+Financial

AssessmentbyCreditDataResearch,usingRiskCalcfromMoody’sAnalytics;

• October2018:MEPisassignedthethirdAntitrustStaroftheLegalityRating

releasedbyAGCM(AutoritàGarantedellaConcorrenzaedelMercato);

• November2018:MEPisthewinnerof“LeFontiAwards”forFinancial

Communication;

• February2019:MEPobtainstheUNIENISO14001CertificationbyBureau

Veritas,inaccordancewiththerequirementsoftheEnvironmentalManagement

Systemstandards;

• November2019:MEPisawardedtheprize“LeFontiAwards”forNon-Financial

Communication.

Theaboveawardsandcertificationsdonotrepresentthefinalobjectivetoreach;rather,

theyrepresentastartingpointonwhichfurtherimprovementhastobebuilt:they

representbyallintentsandpurposesKotter’sshort-termwinsdescribedinchaptertwo.

Theacknowledgementonbehalfoftopmanagementofthefactthatthekeytolong-term

successistobefoundintheabilitytoguaranteethesustainabilityofalltheprocessesin

lightofboththeeconomicenvironmentandthebroaderglobalissuesbroughtthe

attentiontothecreationofSustainableValue,identifiedinchapteronewiththetriple

bottomline.Inthissense,changemanagementtoolssuchaskaizen(constant

improvement)andleanprinciplesplayedakeyrole.

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Nottoolongago,sustainabilitywasnottakenintoconsiderationbycompanies

worldwide;today,onthecontrary,manyofthemseesustainabilityasastrategic

opportunityandpursueit“asanoperationalcompetence”(Lueneburger&Goleman,

2010).Theimplementationofsustainablechangereliesonaseriesofsteps,easily

inscribableintoKotter’seightstepmodelforchange.Asmentionedinchaptertwo,

Kotterhimselfargued,in1996,thatenvironmentalpressureswouldincreaseinthe

closefuture,causingorganizationstotransformaccordingly.Thisstatementdoesnot

necessarilymeanthattheeight-stepmodelhedescribeshastobeappliedtosocialand

environmentalissues,butitcertainlycan.Inordertosuccessfullyimplementanddrive

sustainabilityinitiativesthroughanorganization,therehastobeaclearpathcomposed

ofdifferentstages.LueneburgerandGolemanproposeathree-stepmodeltodoso.

Thefirstphaseconsistsofmakingaclearcaseforchange.Beforeanorganizationfirst

facesenvironmentalchallenges(ordecidestofacethem),ithasareactiveapproachat

best,beingunawareoftheopportunitiesthatcanderivefromthem.Reactivityis

unconsciousatfirst,butithastobecomeconsciouslateron,thankstotheeffortofa

leaderwhoisopentocooperationandisabletoinfluenceotheractors.Evenifthe

companystartsengagingwithsustainability,itusuallydoesnothaveasolid

understandingofitstruemeaning.Thisiswhyinthefirststepitiscrucialtoidentifykey

–eventhoughsomewhatimprecise–riskandopportunities.Alongwithcollaboration

capabilities,thesustainabilityleadermustpossesschangeleadershipcompetences:

vision,dedication,open-mindedness,communicationskills,empathytounderstandthe

involvedstakeholders’needsandmotivations,aswellastheabilitytoinstillchangeinto

theveryfabricoftheorganization.Ultimately,theleadermusthavetheclevernessto

identifybarriersandperseverancetoovercomethem.Theremightnotbeacompletely

cleardirection,yet;theleaderhasthereforethetasktodealwithambiguityandstill

guidethechangeprocess.Itbecomesclearthattheleadercannotactonhisown;a

sustainabilitycommitteecanbeinstituted,composedofkeymembersidentifiedby

someessentialprerogatives;themembersshouldbeinapositionwithinthe

organizationwheretheycaninfluenceothers,theyshouldallbelongtodifferent

functions,theyshouldbedecisionmakers,theyshouldn’tbetoosoftand,ofcourse,they

mustsharethevision.Theleader,togetherwiththesustainabilitycommitteeanddriven

bytheneedforchange,hastoframeandadvocatechange,translatingitintoissuesthat

mattertomanagers,pointingoutthesustainability-relatedfactorsthatcan–andwill–

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bringcommercialoreconomicrewards.

Thesecondstepisrepresentedbythealignmentbetweenthesustainabilityinitiative

andtheactualeconomicvaluecreation.Theultimategoalistodeliverresultsthrougha

strongawarenessofthepotentialofthesustainability-orientedchange.Tangible

projectsandrealinitiativeshavetodelivermeasurableimprovements,throughthe

actionofthesustainabilityleader,whosevisionintranslatedintoacomprehensive

programwithsingestepsthatcanbetrackedthroughclearmetrics.Oneofthemain

difficultiesthatcouldbeencounteredisrepresentedbythefactthatasustainability

initiative,beinglong-termorientedandforward-looking,maynotdeliverinstantand

measurableresults.However,itiseasytostepintothefallacyoffailingtorecognizethe

ineffectivenessoftheinitiativeitself;iftheforecastedperformancefallswellshortof

expectations,correctiveactionmustbetaken.Moreover,eventhesmallestofshort-term

wins,asdescribedinKotter’smodel,canhaveahugeimpactonareasnotdirectly

referringtofinancialmatters.Eventhoughthesustainabilitycommitteeiscomposedof

memberswhounderstandtheneedforchangeandaredrivenbyit,thegenerationof

short-termwinsisoneoftheveryfewwaysthroughwhichitispossibletokeepthe

beliefinthesustainability-orientedchangehigh,sinceitsprogressivedecreaseafterthe

initialenthusiasmisnotuncommonbyanymeans.Furthermore,asKotterpointsout,

theexistenceofpositiveeventhoughsmallresultshavetheimportantconsequenceof

thediscouragementofcriticsonbehalfofpeoplewithintheorganizationwhodonot

understandoracceptthechange,orevenworsetheyactivelyobstructit.This

phenomenonisoftenlinkedtotheissueofpeoplebeingirreplaceabledescribedin

chapterone,anditispartofthereasonwhyirreplaceableresourcesaredifficultto

manage;ofcourse,theabovestatementismadeupontheassumptionthatespeciallyin

smallandmedium-sizedenterprisesthereasonforapersonbeingirreplaceableis

connectedtothefactthattheyhavebeenwithintheorganizationforyear,often

decades;theyhavethereforefallenintotheirowncompetencytrap,wherechangeis

seennotonlyasunnecessarybutevenanobstacletothefirm’ssurvival.Their

perceptionofawell-functioningandsustainablecompanyissetinstoneanddoesnot

contemplateanydivergencefromthewaysthathaveworkedinthepastupuntilnow.

Thesepeople,whoareparadoxicallyenoughamongthemostvaluable:hard-working,

experienced,loyal,knowledgeableandpassionate,arethesameoneswhopotentially

representthegreatestbarriertochangeandinnovation,sincetheirvirtuesdonot

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comprehendtheabilitytoexplorenewknowledge,newwaysnordifferentstrategic

directions.Thesecondstepofasustainability-orientedinitiativethereforegoesfurther

thanjustbeingabettercorporatecitizenwithregardstosustainability.Instead,itis

aboutproactiveimplementation,internalefficiencyandcommercialgainsthroughthe

creationofdifferentiatedvalueforcustomersorendconsumers(Lueneburger&

Goleman,2010).

Thethirdandlastphaseconsistsofthestrengtheningofthecommercialorientation,

accompaniedbyalong-termstrategicapproach,leveragingsustainabilitytofurther

reachcompetitiveadvantage,anticipatingsustainabilitytrends,evaluatingtheunfoldof

futureopportunities.Alltheaboveimpliesapossiblefurthertransformationofthe

organizationalassets,capabilitiesandpartnershipsaswell.Thesustainabilityleaderhas

tokeepfindingwaystorunthebusinessandgenerateprofitwhilenothavingtofear

environmentaldegeneracynorsocialissues,anticipating,benefittingandeven

influencingsustainability-relatedregulatorychanges.Thisapproachfitstheconceptof

openinnovationdescribedinchapterone,inwhichadeeperengagementwithexternal

stakeholdersandinstitutionscangeneratenewchangeandinnovationcapabilities.As

mentionedbefore,decisionsaretakeninfavorofoptimalsolutionsalsocommercially

speaking,buttheexpandedtimehorizonbroughtbyalonger-termapproachto

sustainabilityinitiativescansignificantlyreducetheburdenofthecostsfacedduringthe

earlystages,makingitpossibletoengageininitialinvestmentsandfavorreturnsinthe

longrunovershorttermbenefitsthatwouldleadtoprobablebacklashesdowntheroad.

TheseinvestmentscanforinstanceconsistoftheadoptionofPLM(ProductLifecycle

Management)systemstoconductlife-cycleanalysisofproducts,therebyreaching

internalefficiency,theobtainmentofthird-partyenvironmentalcertificationsandclaim-

verification,andevencollaboratewithenvironmentalstandard-settingbodies.

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Basedon“TheThreePhasesofaSustainabilityInitiative”,TheChangeLeadershipSustainabilityDemands

MEPhasstartedindeedagreeninitiative,recognizingthemultidimensionalnatureof

valuecreation,embeddedwithinthebroaderdriveforfirm-levelsustainability.

Asustainabilityleaderwasidentified:theHSE(HealthSafetyEnvironment)

Sustainabilitymanager,whohasthetaskofdevelopingenvironmentalandsocial

solutionswithinthecompany,underthestrategicvisionandguidanceoftop

managementandfrombothacorporateandoperationalperspective.Thecasefor

sustainablechangehasnotonlybeenmade,butithasinrecentyearsshiftedtowardsan

alignmentbetweenenvironmentalvalueandeconomicvalue.Thisistestifiedbythe

obtainmentoftheUNIENISO14001Certification,releasedbyBureauVeritas,

specifyingtherequisitesoftheenvironmentalmanagementsystemanorganization

mustpossessinordertodevelopitsenvironmentalperformance.Thecertificationhas

theaimofsettingaframeworktheadoptingorganizationcantofollowinorderto

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implementaneffectiveenvironmentalmanagementsystem.Itguaranteesthecompany’s

internalmanagement,workersandexternalstakeholdersthattheenvironmentalimpact

oftheorganization’sdailyactivitiesisnotonlybeingeffectivelymeasured,itis

constantlyimprovedaswell(www.iso.org,2015),allowingtheaccessofpreviously

untappedresourcesandpartnerships.Thebetterenvironmentalperformanceis

achievedthroughmoreefficientuseofresources,reducedwasteproductionormore

efficientandecologicalwastedisposal;allthisdirectlyimpactsthecompany’simageand

trustworthinesstowardsexternalinstitutions,suppliers,clientsandstakeholdersat

large.TheISO14001standardcanbeappliedtoanytypeoforganization,inan

indiscriminatemanner,independentlyfromitsnature(for-profit,non-profit,

governmental)orsize(InternationalOrganizationforStandardization,ISO14001-Key

benefits,2015).Itrequiresanorganizationtoconsidertheenvironmentallyrelevant

matterswithregardstoprocessesandoperations,suchaspollutingemissions,waste

andsewagemanagement,soilcontamination,resourceuseandresourceefficiency.

Furthermore,muchliketheothermanagementsystemstandards,itisdeeplyrooted

intotheconceptofconstantimprovement(kaizen),leanpractices(e.g.wastereduction),

andDeming’sPDCAmodel,whicharedescribedinchaptertwo.Themostrecentversion

ofthestandard(2015)furtherdeepenedstrategicaspectstobeinfluenced,likefor

instancethestrategicplanningprocess,agreaterinputfromleadershipandan

increasedcommitmenttotheengagementininitiativesimprovingoverall

environmentalperformance.TherearemanypositiveimpactstheadoptionoftheISO

14001environmentalmanagementsystemcertificationhasprovedtohave,asthe

demonstrationonbehalfoftheorganizationofthecompliancewithcurrentandfuture

regulatoryrequirements,increasedemployeeengagementandleadershipinvolvement,

financialgainsandcompetitiveadvantagesthroughcostreductionandefficiency

increase,improvedcorporatereputationtowardsthestakeholdersandthecommunity,

betterenvironmentalperformanceonbehalfofthesuppliersintegratedinto

organization’snetwork:“Wheneverwehavetochooseasupplier,qualityandpriceare

nottheonlyvariablestakenintoconsideration;environmentalfactorsplayarole,too.

Welookatfactorssuchascertificationsortheadoptionofformalmanagementsystems

onbehalfofactualandpotentialsuppliers.Similarly,therehavebeeninstancesinwhich

certainclientsofourshaveaskedaboutusbeingcertified.Themarketisdevelopinga

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perceptivenessandsensibilitytowardsenvironmentalfactors”(Mr.ClaudioMiconi,HSE

–SustainabilityManagerofMEP).

Asmentionedbefore,theISO14001certificationisassociatedtoDeming’sPlan-Do-

Check-Actcycle,towhichitexplicitlyrefers(InternationalOrganizationfor

Standardization,committee.iso.org,2015).

ISO14001:2015PDCAmodel(committee.iso.org)

ThePLANphaseconsistsoftheimplementationandobservanceofproceduresto

identifyenvironmentalaspectswithintheorganization,bydefiningthewaythrough

whichprocessesandactivitiesimpacttheenvironment.Todoso,asetofevaluation

criteriahastobedefined,specificallyfortheindustrytakenasreference.Inthecaseof

MEP,operatinginthemechanicalindustry,thefactorshavingadirectimpactonthe

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environmentarepollutingemissionsderivingfromtheweldingandpaintingprocesses.

Environmentalgoalsneedtobeset,alongwiththeenvironmentalprogramstoallow

actualimplementation.

TheDOphaseconsistsofthedefinitionofresources,rules,responsibilitiesand

authorities;inaddition,amanagementrepresentativehastobenominated,who

becomesresponsiblefortheenvironmentalmanagementsystem:MEP’sHSE

Sustainabilitymanager.Moreover,proceduresmustbeputinplaceinordertomaintain

thealignmentbetweenenvironmentalgoalsandthecompetences,educationand

awarenessofthepeoplewithinthefirmwhoseactivitieshavesomekindof

repercussionofsaidgoals.Thisismadepossiblethankstotheconstantandcontinuous

educationprovidedbytheMEPBusinessSchool,throughtensofcourseseachyear,

destinedtopeoplebelongingtoallorganizationallevels.Anefficientcommunication

mustbeestablished,too,bothinternallyandexternally-oriented.Allprocedureshaveto

beformalizedinordertobeaccessed,tracked,modifiedandupdated,andalloperations

andactivitieshavetobecontrolled.Factorswithanegativeenvironmentalimpactcan

thereforebediscoveredandreducedaccordingly.

TheCHECKphaseconsistsofsurveillanceandmonitoringofalltheabovethroughthe

implementationofmonitoringproceduresofoperationswithpossiblysignificant

environmentalimpacts,whereastheACTphaseconsistsofthere-examinationprocess

onbehalfofthecompany’stopmanagement.

Withintheaboveframework,MEPwasabletoconductseveralenvironmentally-

orientedchangesfromanoperationalperspective.Anexampleisrepresentedby

circulareconomy,whichevenbecomesindustrialsymbiosis:acollectiveapproachto

circulareconomyinvolvingthe“physicalexchangeofmaterials,energy,water,and/or

by-products.ThekeystoIndustrialSymbiosisarecollaborationandthesynergistic

possibilitiesofferedbygeographicproximity”(Chertow,2000).Specifically,theferrous

materialderivingfromthetestsconductedontheproducedmachinesisdeliveredtoan

externalactorwhomeltsitandreusesitwithinthesameindustry,producingoutputsto

besold.Industrialsymbiosisnotnecessarilyimpliesaneconomiccompensation:

materialssuchaswoodandpaperaremuchlessvaluable,forinstance.Inthecaseof

iron,however,thematerial’svalueisacknowledgedandpaidfor,confirmingthe

coexistenceofenvironmentalandeconomicvaluegeneration.Anotherexampleis

representedbytheuseofwater-basedvarnishwhenpaintingthemachines’

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components,whichisnotonlyenvironment-friendlysinceitimpliesthereductionof

pollutingemissionsintheatmosphere,butitevenimprovesworkers’safety,allowing

themtoworkinamoresalubriousenvironmentthankstothereducedpresenceof

solventanditdrasticallyreducesthehazardoffire.

Socialsustainabilityplaysagreatrole,too.Asshownearlierinthischapter,MEPwas

awardedthefirstantitruststarofthelegalityratingin2014,releasedbyAutorità

GarantedellaConcorrenzaedelMercato;thethirdstarwasawardedin2018.The

legalityratingwasintroducedin2012.Ithastheaimofpromotingethicalbehavior

withinItaliancompaniesthroughtheassignmentofaratingbasedontheleveloflegal

complianceandtheattentionplacedonthecorrectbusinessmanagement:ethical

corporatebehaviorisjudgedandrewarded.Beingawardedthreestarshasimplications

thatgofurtherthantheimprovementofthecompany’simage:theaccesstofinancial

resourcesgrantedbyfinancialinstitutesisfacilitatedaswell,perfectlydisplayingthe

coexistenceofsocialandeconomicsustainability.

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95

Conclusions

Theincreasedcomplexityoftheglobaleconomicconditionsaswellasthesocialand

environmentalpressuresareshapingorganizationsworldwide,forcingthemtorespond

andtransformaccordingly.Medium-sizedcompaniescomposingtheItalianeconomic

fabricmakenoexception.Theanalyzedcasestudyhasbeenconductedtoinvestigate

whetherthepeculiarmanagementmodeladoptedbymedium-sizedItalianchampions

canbetherightanswertothenewstrategicrequirementsandwhetheritissustainable

overthelongrunaswell.Todoso,twomainaspectsweretakenintoconsiderationand

describedfromatheoreticalperspectivebyconductingareviewoftherelevant

literatureonthematter:thedistinctivetraitsoftheItalianmedium-sizedEnterprises

(chapterone)andthedescriptionofavarietyofchangemanagementmodelsaswellas

theirevolutionovertime,whichhavebeen–andcanbeinthefuture–usedtoguide

organizationalchangewithinsmall,mediumandbig-sizedcompanies(chaptertwo).

TheItalianmedium-sizedchampionsareidentifiedbysomedistinctivequalities,many

ofwhich–almostallofthem–arefoundinthecompanytheempiricalstudyhasbeen

conductedin.Thestronginternationalcharacterisdemonstratedbysomekeynumbers

exceedingtheItalianaverage:foreignsalesaccountfor87,5%ofthewholeturnover;

businessisconductedin128countriesworldwide;themarketofreferenceisaniche,in

whichthecompanyisthemainleaderholdinga23-24%marketshare,andasfarasthe

governancestructureisconcerned,thefoundingfamily’sparticipationwithinthefirmis

strong,accompaniedbyasignificantmanagerialpresence.Changemanagementmodels

provideaframeworkthroughwhichorganizationalchangehasbeenconductedandcan

beconductedinthefuture,regardingcorporategovernance,financialmanagement,

humanresourcesmanagement,therelationshipwithstakeholders,theapproach

towardsinnovationandsustainability-orientedorganizationalchange.Specifically,far-

Easternmanagerialinfluencessuchastheconceptofkaizen,Deming’scycle,lean

practicesandKotter’seight-stepmodelhaveguidedtheimplementationofavarietyof

transformations.

Theevidencegatheredduringtheinternshipandthefollowingworkexperiencein

M.E.P.MacchineElettronichePiegatrici,medium-sizedItaliancompanyoperatinginthe

BusinesstoBusinessindustry,testifiesasteadygrowththathastakenplaceinrecent

years.Specifically,asgraphicallyrepresentedinchapterthree,saleshaveincreased

96

steadily,alongwithotherkeyfigures(EarningsBeforeInterest,Taxes,Depreciationand

Amortization,NetFinancialDebt/Shareholders’Equity).Businessandfinancialfigures

arenottheonlyevidencesupportingthehypothesisofthecompany’sgrowthand

sustainability.Corporategovernancesupportedbyastrongmanagerialpresencehas

representedthekeytothefirm’sinternalandexternaldevelopment,astestifiedbythe

recentaccomplishmentslistedinthelastchapter.

ThesumofboththeuniquebusinessmodeloftheSMEsandthesuccessfulmanagement

oforganizationalchangehadasaresultthegenerationofmultidimensionalvalueand

sustainablegrowthanddevelopment.

Theempiricalanalysis,however,displaysapotentiallycriticality,whichisrepresented

bythepersonalinvolvementwithinthestudiedorganization:thethree-month

internshipconductedinM.E.P.wasfollowedbyanactualhiring.Ononehand,the

possibilitypresenteditselftoconductfurtherresearchanddirectobservationofthe

studiedphenomena.Ontheother,onecouldarguethatthedeeperinvolvementcould

generateabiasaffectingresearchobjectivityandconclusions.Specifically,theriskof

describingthefindingsinacelebrativewayratherthananimpartialoneexists.

However,theawarenessofsuchpotentiallycriticalfactorledtotheeffortofcontrolling

andthereforecontainingthebiasitself.

Toconclude,thebusinessandmanagementmodeloftheItaliansmallandmedium-sized

enterpriseshasprovedtobesustainablefromamultidimensionalperspective.The

evidencesuggeststhatthekeytosuccessisalsostronglyrelatedtotheabilityof

managingtheincreasingcomplexitythatderivesfromeconomic,socialand

environmentalmatters,testifyingthekeyroleofcompetentmanagerialfiguresinfirm

sustainability.

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Appendix

InterviewsconductedduringtheinternshipinM.E.P.MacchineElettroniche

Piegatrici

Interviewees:

• Dr.VitoRotondi:CEO&ManagingDirectorofMEP;

• Ms.MichelaDelFabro:memberofMEP’sfoundingFamilyandCEOofACM,MEP’s

R&Dpartner;

• Mr.AndreaMarinoCerrato:ICT&MGNTSystems-MEPBusinessSchool

Director;

• Dr.AnnaPizzale:QualityManager;

• Mr.ClaudioMiconi:HSESustainabilityManager.

Interview1:Dr.VitoRotondi

IlsignificatodiGovernanceèdivenutonegliultimiannisemprepiùcomplessoed

articolato,includendounanozionediValorecomposita/multiforme,chesispingeoltreal

significatoeconomico.QualèlaposizionediMEPinmerito?

CredosiaverocheiltemadellaGovernancesiadivenutocomplessoearticolato.D’altro

canto,ilmondoèdiventatoanch’essocomplessoedarticolato.Governare,cheèlaradice

digovernance,significaesprimeredelleregole,faredelleistruzioni,deiprincipiedelle

lineeguidanonnecessariamentestringentiperilpiacerediesserlo,mastringenti

perchélagovernance–questaèun’opinionecheriguardaMEP–èiltemadisinapsiedi

correlazioneemotiva,organizzativa,normativa,amministrativadirettafral’aziendaedi

propriobiettivi.Legamevincente,perquantoriguardaMEP,perquantoriguardala

governancediMEP,ècheinquestianni,inseguitoadelledifficoltà,siamoriuscitia

legareilcomportamentoindividualedeisingoliedell’organizzazionealraggiungimento

dideterminatiobiettivichehannoconsentitoilriconoscimentodiratingel’ottenimento

diunaseriediriconoscimentiformalisullabasedeiqualil’aziendaharitrovatol’identità

organizzativa.

Percuilerispostesonodue:sì,MEPhapresoconsapevolezzadellagovernance.La

secondarispostaèchelastessagovernanceperMEPnonsiaadempiereadelle

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normative,maèilriconoscersinellemodalitàconcuisiraggiungonodeterminati

obiettivichericonosconoalorovoltadeterminatiratingemeriticreditiziequindi

reiteranopositivamentequestocircuito,divenutouncircuitoemotivo:lepersone

gioisconodelrating“A+”diMoody’s.Malagovernancenonèquesta.Lagovernanceèil

fattochel’aziendasiriconoscaneiprocessielementarimisurabiliperarrivarea

determinatiobiettivi.Sepoisuccedechegliobiettivinonsiraggiungonoperchéil

mercatononc’è,sec’èunacrisisenzaprecedenti,lagovernanceimpostatasolosul

riconoscimentodelratingperdedicontenuto.

Iltessutoeconomicoitalianoècomposto(oltrechedallemicroimpreseedallepoche

grandiaziende)daimpresedidimensione“media”,concaratterefortemente

internazionalemaconradiciprofondenelterritoriod’origine.QualèilrapportodiMEP

conilterritorioelesueistituzioni,cultura,trattidistintivi?

PerMEPilsuoterritorioèfondamentale.Ioparloconlepersone,vedolarobustezza

emotivadell’azienda,miriconosco;cioèriconosconell’aziendaquellatipologiadi

persona,appartenenteaquestatipologiaditerritorio.

InItaliailtemadimensionalespessoèstatofuorvianteperchéèdiventataletteraturadel

“piccoloèbello”.Avere80milionidifatturatoinunmercatoda600milionidieuro

secondomeèmegliocheavereunfatturatodi1miliardodieuroinunmercato

infinitamentepiùgrande.Inveceiltemadelleradiciedellacaratteristicainternazionale

dell’azienda,quellosì,èpesante,perchésignificasaperinteragireconlapropriacultura

econlesueistituzionietrattidistintivi,servendoefrequentandomercati–128Paesi-

chevannodalBrasileallaRussia,all’Australia,allaCorea.LaMEPèquesto.Comecisi

arriva?Inizialmentecongrandiambizioni,poiperabitudine,epoiperresistenza.

Partefondamentaledellelogiched’impresaèrappresentatadalrapportoconiportatoridi

interessenellalorointegralità:clienti,fornitori,partner,istitutidicredito,società,

comunità…QualèlaposizionediMEPariguardo,equantoècomplessalagestioneedil

mantenimentodell’equilibriotrastakeholdervalueeshareholdervalue?

Ladomandanonèsemplice.Nelmomentoincuisiriesceafarconvergeregliinteressi

degliStakeholder,nonèdifficilegenerarericchezza.Iportatoridiinteresse,fra

stakeholdereshareholderdebbonotrovareunamisuraperesprimereilorointeressi

99

comeclienti,fornitori,partner,istitutidicredito,societàecomunità,collocandosiquali

miglioriinterlocutori.Stakeholdervalueeshareholdervaluesonolegatidalfattoche

ciascunodiessipossaesprimersicomebestinclass.Seiohoilmigliorfornitoreeluivaa

pareggiosuunaforniturapermesullaqualeiovadoapareggiononvisonomarginidi

miglioramentopernessuno;iononpotreifareamenodilui,néluipotrebbefareameno

dime.Peròquestovaadannodeisuoishareholder,deimieiedeirapportifranoi.Poter

offrirequellochenoiriteniamosiaidoneocomeposizionediMEPariguardo,imigliori

indicatori–nonostantelacomplessitàdellagestioneedelmantenimentodell’equilibrio

fraglistakeholdereishareholder–assicuraimarginiatutti.

Lacrisidel2007-2008haaccresciutol’urgenzadipensareadunbusinessmodelnuovo,

capacediconciliareobiettivieconomiciebenesseresociale,superando“lecontraddizioni

delmodellosocio-economicoprecedentechehavistoladisgiunzionetraeconomiae

società”(Cappelletti,Serio,2017).InchemodoMEPhasuperatolacrisi?Quali

cambiamentisonostatinecessari?

Lacrisiharappresentatoforseilprimomomentodellastoriadiquestaaziendanelquale

siètrovatadifrontealdilemmasullapropriaidentitàreale.Chisonoioveramente?La

ripostanonpotevaesseredentroiprodotti.QuandolaCoca-Colasichiedechisiala

Coca-Cola,larispostaè:“laCoca-Cola”.PerMEPèdiverso.MEPnonavevaraggiunto

quegliobiettividiidentificazione,neancheinterminiorganizzativi.Labrandloyaltynon

eradiventatalaloyaltydeidipendenti.

Lacrisidel2007-2008haoffertoun’interpretazionepiùattentaacomegestire

l’organizzazioneeariconoscersi.Nonhacreatoun’urgenzadiridefinireilbusiness

model,perchéilmercatoèabbastanzasonnacchioso,abbastanzalentonell’acquisire

modifichedabusinessmodel.Abbiamofattoun’operazionediproduttivitàedefficienza.

Lacrisicihainsegnatoanchequalcos’altro,però.Cihainsegnatolacapacitàdiconciliare

obiettivieconomiciebenesseresociale.Lepersoneprimavenivanoinazienda,

prendevanolostipendioconsideratoquasiunarendita,andavanoacasaevivevano

socialmentefelici.Illavorononcostituivaperlorounobiettivoattraversoilqualeoffrire

aséstessilamigliorevita.Lapassioneperillavoronascevapiùdall’identificazionecon

uncontenutotecnicochenonlatrasformazionedelproprioozioinunnegoziocapacedi

crearesoddisfazionepersonale.Equestoèstatoilprincipalepunto.

100

Andandoindietroneltempoperfareancheunpassaggioordinato,iononhovistola

“disgiunzionetraeconomiaesocietà”.Nonc’è.L’economianonèdisgiuntadallasocietà.

E’pericolosoaffermarequesto.NonsidevecaderenellatrappolaemotivadiCucciache

dicevachenoiconleimpresepiccolerappresentiamoil“capitalismostraccione”,per

usareterminisuoi.No,perchéprobabilmenteluierailsalottobuonodellagestione

d’impresa.Sonolontanodall’idealismoattraversoilqualepotersirappresentareinborsa

senzaavereicontenutipermeritarlosiacomunqueunapatentedieccellenza.

Lariflessionenonpuònemmenodivenireilrancoredellasocietàneiconfrontidi

un’impresaladdovequestanonportilaricchezza,perchécisarannodelleragionipercui

un’aziendapossaessereandatamale,no?Stofacendounagiustariflessioneintornoal

compromessoeconomia/societàladdovesianodistinteedovepossanotrovaredeipunti

diequilibrio.

Lacomplessitàdell’ambientecompetitivoelacondizionediuncertaintynellaqualele

impreseoperanohannoresofondamentalelapresenzadifigureprofessionaliformate,

competentiecapaci,posteadamministrareleattivitàd’impresa.Qualisonogli

strumenti/modellimanagerialichesonostatiosonodiausilionelprocessodi

cambiamento(menzionatonelpuntoprecedente)?

Qualilecriticità/difficoltàchesiincontrano?

Sicuramentelaprimariflessionedeveesseredicarattereemotivo.Lefigure

professionaliformatedevonoesserecapacidireggereunostresseun’ansiachesi

confronticoniVUCA(ivolatili,incerti,complessieambigui)strumentioprofilidella

vitaprofessionale.Alcunesiformanosulcampodibattaglia;altre,competentiecapaci,

derivanodallaformazioneesterna,parloperme.Iononsareicosìsenonavessifatto

l’esperienzadiunagravecrisiinun’aziendaimportanteemiavesseromandatoa

studiarelagestionedellacrisiaLondra.Piùcisispaventa,piùsiimpara.

Glistrumentiemodellisonofondamentalmentedue:ilportafoglioordinielacassa.Non

sivivedicontoeconomicochiusounmesedopocheilmesesiècompletato,perchélì

siamotuttimorti.Glistrumentiemodellimanageriali,perquantomiriguardasonola

supplychain,ilCRMel’ERP.

Difficoltàecriticità:fondamentalmentederivanodall’utilizzodivocabolarielinguaggi

chequestaaziendaoaltreaziendeprimadellacrisinonavesserovissuto.Ladifficoltà

stanelfarpassarel’ideachenoncisonoalternative.C’èpurtropposempreunindividuo

101

checercaunazonadiconfortonellaqualecollocarsi.Poilecollettivitàdevonotrovare

anchedegliequilibriperséstesse,perchémentreèverocheuninterlocutorepuònon

cercarelapropriaemancipazionesocialenellavoro,èaltrettantoverochegliindividui

cercanodiriconoscersistatusemotivi,organizzativieculturaliaprescinderedallaloro

realecompetenza.Quindil’organizzazionedeveessereingradodiriconoscereilmerito

oggettivo,nonlaconquistadelrisultatoaprescindere.E’untemadietica,dimoraleedi

disciplinadifficilissimo.Poibisognasoggettivarecontinuamente,riconoscereseun

risultatoèepisodico,cosachepuònoncapitarequandosisonofattiisoldi;il

compromessononpuòessereuncompromessodellaissez-faire,perchéaquelpuntosi

distruggel’azienda.L’autoritarismospietatoèpericolosoperchécisiisola,lagovernance

aprescinderedaglielementiumanièpericolosaaltrettantoperchédisimpegnale

soggettivitàalternativerispettoaicanonidiformazioneclassica,ediventadifficile.

Questisonoinostriargomenti,lanostraattivitàquotidiana.

Internazionalizzazione:dallaanalisiempiriche,untrattocheaccomunalemedieimprese

italianeèlafortepresenzaneimercatiesteri.LuigiSerio(2017)parladiunapercentuale

difatturatosviluppatoall’esterospessosuperioreal70%.InMEPtalepercentualesupera

addirittural’85%.

Èunasituazionechepersistedalpassato,oèunatendenzaditempipiùrecenti?

E’unasituazionechenascenelmomentoincuisièbloccatoilmercatoitaliano,stimo

parlandodel2011-2012,edilmercatospagnolo.Sieranocreateduegrandibolle

dell’ediliziacheavevanofavoritolavenditadellenostremacchine,quindilemacchine

venduteavevanopolarizzatoilfatturatoinduemercati,SpagnaeItalia.La

polarizzazioneèpericolosa.QuandolabollaprimainSpagnaepoiinItaliaècrollata,

questaaziendahavistoperderecirca40milionidieurodifatturato.E’stataunacrisi

tremenda.Oggisiamotornati(bilancio2018)aunfatturatoimportante,madistribuito

in128paesi(127piùl’Italia).Comespiegarlo?E’facile.Nessunmercatodomesticopuò

consentireadun’aziendacomelanostradirappresentareil100%delfatturato.L’Italiaè

unpaesetroppopiccoloperavereaziendeinequilibrioeconunutilevendendosolosul

mercatoitaliano,eccezionfattapersettoriemercatiprotetti(leferrovie,adesempio).

102

Interview2:Ms.MichelaDelFabro

Lepersonenellaricercaesviluppoinun’aziendasononaturalmentepredispostead

affrontareiltemadellasostenibilitàodevonoessereeducateaquestonuovopensiero?

Dachi?Comesifaasviluppounacoscienza?Implicaunlassoditempo,quindicome

amministratoredelegatohoduegap:primosonounadonnainunambientemaschile,il

secondoèquellodiessereunasognatrice.Adesempio,ioeVitocicompletiamoquando

parliamodiquestecose.Luièunmanagerpuro,iono.Svolgofunzionimanagerialima

hoancheunaltrocompitoperchérappresentolaproprietà.Forselecosemiglioritrame

eluisononatequandoabbiamodovutounireleforze.

Sitrattadellaclassicaseparazionetraproprietàeimprenditoriaelagestioneeil

management.Èunanecessitàavereunpensierofuoridaglischemi,creativo,ambizioso,

astratto,alfuturo.Questaèlaprerogativadell’imprenditoreenonforsedellafigura

professionalecheamministra.

Iononsonoimprenditricenelsensototaledeltermine,masonocresciutainuna

famigliadiimprenditoriedentrodimec’èilrischio.

Ilrischiodeveesserecalcolatoinquestomomentostorico.Glierroridelpassatoerano

compensatidaun’enormefinanzacheda15anniadogginonc’èpiù;lacrisihaspazzato

viatuttoilsurpluschecipermettevadisbagliare.Oggiunosbaglioimpattainmaniera

importantissimasull’organizzazione.CondividounpensierodiMatteoMarzotto,lacui

famigliaètraquellechehannotrainatolaricchezzadelnordestdelpaese,conun’attività

chepoisièramificata.Oggiesserefiglidiimprenditorièunpesosullaschienaenonsi

puòreplicareilmodellodellagenerazionepassataperchénonsostenibile.Sihannogli

occhipuntatiaddossoec’èunmomentodiscontroconlagenerazionediprimaperchéci

sonodinamichechenonconosce,hapaura,contrastaeblocca.Inpiùinsenoalle

famigliecisonoaltreproblematiche,cisonoaltrielementicheinteragisconosugli

equilibri.Oggileaziendefamiliarisonounmodellocheancorafunziona,cheall’esteroci

guardano.Forsedobbiamolavoraresuquellocheabbiamomafacendoloevolvere.Oggi

leaziendefamiliaridevonorimaneretalipertantiaspetti;sonounmodellovincente,ma

nonbastapiùelacommistionetramanageresternoelafamigliasarebbeassolutamente

ottimo.Ilproblemadelmanagerinaziendefamiliariècheteoricamentenonpuò

scindereleduecose,dire“èsololavoro”ogestireancheleinterferenzedellaproprietà.

103

Seilmanagerriesceadavereentrambelefunzionil’aziendariesceasopravvivere,

altrimentilavedodifficile.

Mitornainmenteunriferimentodiunlibroincuivieneanalizzatoilmodelloitalianodi

managementcheèquellodellapiccolamasoprattuttomediaimpresa;laletteratura

managerialehaconsideratodadecennilafasemediacomeunafasedipassaggiodal

piccoloalgrande,inveceSerioriconosceilfattocheladimensionedelpiccolononhacome

evoluzionequelladelgrande,èunacategoriaaséstantechefunzionaecontinueràa

funzionaresevieneinnovata.

Masaiperchéfunziona?Haunelementocheèuntesoro,cheèlaflessibilità.Una

strutturagrandenonlacambicosìfacilmente.Ogginelmondosopravvivisesei

flessibile.Guardacos’èstatoilgruppoBenettoninVenetoeguardachedisastrohanno

fattoquandohannodecisodidelocalizzare.Lorosonopotentiperchéhannounamente

comeMionallorointerno,hannodiversificatoinsettoristrategici.OggiBenetton

includeununiversoetuttoquellochehannocreatoèstatocreatodaMionper

Alessandro.Esperimentotuttoravalidoadistanzadianni.Acquisisconoquotedipiccole

aziendechecredonopossanoavereunosviluppo.Unamicomio,chehafattobusiness

conloroneglianni’90,hadettochehaimparatoafarel’imprenditorepiùin2-3incontri

delgruppoBenettonedicomesimuovevanochenonneglistudi.Loavevaaffascinatola

velocitànelprendereledecisionielofannotuttora.

ACMèun’entitàlegalmentedistintadaMEP.Qualèilsuoruolonelgruppo?

PerrispondereaquestodevoriepilogarelanascitadiACM.ACMèstataistituitanel

1988,pervolontàdellamiafamigliaedell’amministratoredelegatodell’epoca.L’ideaera

dicreareunluogodelleideeedellaprogettazioneautonomaedistaccatadallarealtà

dellaproduzioneinserie;lelogichedellaricercaedellosviluppo,dellaprogettazionee

innovazionesidiscostavanodaquelledellaproduzioneinserie.Lacommistionedelle

duecosenoneracompatibile.Quindiinizialmentesieradecisodicreareunpiccolo

ufficiodiprogettazionedimassimo5personeconl’unicoscopodicreareeinnovareil

prodotto.Iosonostatasceltaperessereacapodellagestioneamministrativadiquesta

area.Misonodiplomatanel1985,avevoseguitoalcuneareedell’azienda,soprattutto

104

quelleriguardantil’estero;dopo3annierodasolaagestirequestacosanuova.Ero

giovane,inesperta,malamiapaurainizialeèstatatrasformatainuncontagioso

entusiasmo.PoiACMcresce,lepersoneaumentanoenegliannisidecisediaffrancare

allaprototipialarealizzazionediunapre-seriedimacchinarichevenivanodaessa,

ancheperchéquellafasehaun’importanzanotevole.Unasortadioperazionealungo

terminedelcollaudodelprototiposucuiabbiamointerferitoaggiungendopartinuove,

tuttoquestocoadiuvatidaclientistoricichesiprestanoadacquisireprimiprototipiche

fannocrescereinsiemeanoi.OggiACMconta23-24persone,èun’aziendaabbastanza

strutturata,8milionidieurodifatturato,centrounicodiricercaeprogettazione

meccanicaeaerodinamicadelgruppoMEP.Lenostremacchinevengononutritedaun

apparatodinaturaelettronicagestitoinMEP;originariamentevieraunpiccolo

laboratorioelettronicoinACM,mapoieconomicamentenonsièdimostratovantaggioso

creareundoppione.Oggicos’èACM:uncontenitoreincuic’èlaholdingdifamiglia(40%

MEP),èilcentrodiprototipiadelgruppoeancheunthinktankemoltealtrecose,anche

sepersceltaabbiamodecisodiviverequestoruoloinsilenzioelontanodairiflettori.

Ilcompanymotto“thehistoryofinnovation”edilbusinessmotto“Atraditionof

innovation”evidenzianol’importanzadell’innovazioneinMEP.Quantoèimportantenel

gruppolapartediricercaesviluppo?

Vogliosottolinearel’aspettodellacentralitàdell’innovazionechecaratterizzailpassato,

ilpresenteedilfuturo.ÈunelementochecicaratterizzafindagliesordinonsoloinACM

maMEP,aziendacon2caratteristichefondamentali:l’innovazioneedilfattochefu

presentatanonnelterritoriomaall’expodiParigidiqueglianni.Quindialcontempoè

un’aziendanataperessereinternazionaleeloèda55anniadora.Sonoelementi

determinantianchenelmomentodicrisi;l’innovazionepassatahacreatounpatrimonio

brevettualeimportantissimo.Quandoabbiamoaffrontatolacrisil’innovazioneeil

patrimoniobrevettualeelapresenzaintuttoilmondohannofattosìchecisalvassimo,

perquestovoglioricordareilpassatoesperodipotertraghettarequalcosaoltreil

presente.L’innovazioneènelnostroDNAelasfidaperilfuturosaràun’evoluzionedi

un’innovazionechesiasostenibilesiaperl’uomocheperl’ambiente;opportunitàunicae

stimolanteedelementononpresentenelpassatoenemmeno15annifa.Noiabbiamo

sempreinnovatoilprodottoesiamosemprestatiattentialleesigenzedelmomento

105

storico;oradobbiamopoterlocongiungerealdiscorsodellasostenibilitàneilimitidel

possibilenelfuturoepensareaformealternativedisostenibilità,legateadunanuova

cultura(es.imprimerenellepersonechelavoranoquiunnuovomodellodiaziendaedi

sentirelecoseinunadeterminatamaniera;puntareancheadun’evoluzionediun

macchinariosemprevalidocheconopportuniaccorgimentisiapiùconsonoainuovi

obbiettivi).Sonopassiobbligatimacambiamentichedevonoavereunlorotempo,per

coinvolgerel’interacomunità;cambiareilpensierocomunenonèsemplice,soprattutto

quandonontoccaelementidisopravvivenzaequindinonsembraunanecessità

immediataebisognaeducarloavedereoltre.Percuimisentodidirecheperilfuturo

cheègiàiniziatodesiderofortementeun’innovazionea360gradi.

Leattivitàdiricercaesvilupposonorivoltesoloall’innovazionedelprodottooanchedel

processo?

Sonorivolteall’innovazionediprodottoinprimismaanchediprocesso.Icambiamenti

degliultimiannisonostatitotalietotalisarannoancheleinnovazioniinfuturo.

Studieremonuovesoluzioniperl’evoluzionedelnostroprodottomaavremosemprepiù

unocchiodiriguardoperl’ambienteincuiimacchinaridovrannolavorare.Saremoin

gradodiproporresoluzioniperilprocessolavorativoel’efficaciadellacomponentistica

saràmonitorata,assistitaeottimizzata.Èun’innovazionediprocessocheriguarderebbe

anchenoimachevogliamoancheportarefuoridall’azienda,quindianchecome

lavoranoiclienticonlenostremacchine.C’èancheildiscorsodell’industria4.0cheho

seguitodaanniquandoancoraeraquasisconosciuto;all’iniziomihaaffascinato

tantissimo,poièunacosacheapremoltiorizzontimaogginonèancoraregolamentata

daldiritto,ècomeunmodoperentrareinun’aziendaaltruiecontrollarecosasta

facendo.Forseattraversol’innovazionediprocessovièunmodoperentrareinaltre

aziendeinpuntadipiedi,facendosiamareenonodiare.

Innovareèmigliorareinmanieraincrementaleodisruptive;èrivoltopiùall’efficienzao

allaflessibilità?

Innovarepermesignificamigliorareinmanieraincrementalemaaltempostessoin

manieradisruptive.Ilmiglioramentoèrivoltoatutteeduelesfere,èunmomento

106

storicoincuileveritàassolutenonesistono.Pensochevederelecosedaentrambiilati

sialacosamigliorepercercaredicapirecosaèmegliofare,andareavanticon

miglioramentoecrearequalcosachenelmercatononc’è.Noilavoriamoinunmercato

dinicchia,dovecisonologichediversedaquellenormali,siamoda55anninelmercato

einostricompetitorssonosemprequelli;almomentoc’èunequilibriochefunziona,ma

verràprimaopoiunmomentostoricoincuiquestocambierà.Benvengaun’innovazione

cherivoluzioniiltutto,madev’essereragionata.

Nellosvolgimentodell’attivitàinACM,consideratelenecessitàdiMEPoanchedelclientea

valle?Seèveroilsecondocaso,ilpassaggioaTechnologySolutionProvisionimplicauna

nuovaattenzioneallenecessitàdelcliente?Quantoincidequestopassaggiosull’attivitàdi

ricercaesviluppo?

Inazienda,parloancheperquantoriguardaMEP,l’attenzioneallenecessitàdelclientea

vallehasempreavutounanotevoleenecessariaimportanza,maaltempostesso

vengonoconsiderateanchelenecessitàdiMEPdalpuntodivistacommerciale;nella

maggiorpartedeicasilenecessitàconvergono,mainalcunicasivisonostatesoluzioni

separate.Questovuoldirechetantissimeevoluzionidiprodottosononatespessoda

esigenzedelcliente,cheèlacartinatornasoleperlaricezionedelmercato.Nonsono

momentistoriciincuisipuòmetterenelmercatoqualcosadidiscutibileosipuòfarein

percentualelimitata.Bisognaesserevisionarimaanchesopravvivere.Cisonostaticolpi

ditesta,adesempioquandoabbiamomessonelmercatomacchinechesubitononsono

statecapite,machedopo10anniabbiamodovutotirarefuorinuovamente,adesempio

ilconcettodellastaffalavoratain3DeranatainACM,eraunprogrammadurato

parecchimesimanonavevatrovatoriscontrosulmercatoequindiinizialmente

accantonato;poièarrivatounmomentostoricoincuiènataquestaesigenza,quindici

siamolanciatisulmercatoconqualcosachegiàavevamonelcassetto.

Unaltroesempiodiprogettoèquellodiunmacchinariopensatoperlavorareuncerto

tipodimateriale,cheinunfuturomoltovicinol’Americachiederà.Nonhomiapensato

cheisoldispesiinquestaaziendasianostatisoldipersi;quandopartiamo,partiamocon

ideeeprospettivevicineallarealtà,quindiilclientehasemprefattopartediquesto

processo.

107

Laproduzioneèantecedutadaideazione,progettazioneeprototipazione;sonocorrettii

passaggi?Quantoduramediamenteuncicloproduttivodelgenere?

Sì,sonocorretti.Uncicloproduttivoduramediamenteda6mesia1anno,poipuò

durareanchedue.Inquesti6mesi,parlandodelprogettomenoimpegnativocimetto

dentroanchel’approvvigionamentodeimateriali.Diciamochegeneralmentel’ideaè

veloce,lapercepisconoanchefrequentandolefiereimportantinelmondo,captanolo

spunto,parlanoconclientiel’ideaparte.Poi,alivelloprogettuale-parlodiunprogetto

dipiccolemediedimensioni-duemesi,poibisognaconsiderarecheattualmente

abbiamobisognodiduemesiperimaterialiperilprototipoinquantosonoparticolari

meccanicinoncodificati:abbiamounaselezionedifornitoridispostiainterromperecicli

produttivipermettereinproduzioneunparticolaremaifatto.Poic’èunapercentualedi

errore,laprogettazionenonèinfallibile.Ilpezzochenonfunzionaolomodifichiamoo

tornadalfornitore;poioggigiornoifornitorinontengonopiùinmagazzinomaterie

primeperlaproduzionediparticolarimeccaniciquindidevonoalorovoltarecuperare

lamateriaprima,cheentrainazienda,vienetrasformatanelparticolaremeccanicoche

poivienespeditoanoi,quindiitempisidilatano.Lemacchinepoivengonotestate,ein

questoitempisonoristretti.

Qualèilruolodellatecnologiaequalequellodellacompetenzaumana?

Lamiarispostanascedaunaseriediconsiderazioni,ècomplicata.Appartengoaduna

generazionelacuivitaèstatacambiatadallatecnologia,maquestaèstataimmessanel

mondoinunmomentostoricoincuic’eranoitempiperassorbirla.Latecnologiaèuno

straordinariomezzoconcuisipossonorisolvereemiglioraretantissimiaspettidella

nostravita,malepersonesonosempreecomunqueilfine.Nonriescoaconcepirela

tecnologiacomefineaséstessa,trovosempreuncollegamentoconl’uomo;serimane

fineaséstessavengonovanificatianchetuttiglisforzichesonostatiimpiegatinellasua

creazione.Nonèsempreneurale,produceibridicheincorporanounavisionemoralee

sociopolitica;vincolanol’utilizzatoreacomportamentiinuncertomodo.Latecnologia

pretendedisaperemegliodinoistessicosaèbenepernoi,bisognastarattentiall’uso

chesenefa.Èdifficilecomprenderelamoralitàdelletecnologieperchénonhasenso

valutarlaaldifuoridelcontesto,maèsoloinuncontestod’usoconcretochesi

108

comprendeilruoloel’impattodelletecnologie.Quellochenasceinlaboratorioèallo

statopuro,poivieneinseritoinuncontesto,percuièunpuntoimportanteda

approfondire.Tantopiùlatecnologiasiincarnainunaroutinequotidiana,tantopiùla

moralitàdiventaparadossalmenteinvisibile.L’urbanistaesociologoLewisMumford

neglianni‘60parlavadelcaratteredemocraticoealtempostessoautoritariodelle

tecnologiecontemporanee;possonodarcituttoinquantitàimpensabiliancheperuna

minoranza,allacondizionechenonchiediamonullaaldifuoridiquellochecioffrail

sistemaeaccettiamotuttociòcheilsistema,anzichélapersona,richiede.Lavelocità

portaallescelteincaute,nonbisognapensaretroppo,mailgiusto,bisognaessere

flessibili.

L’argomentodelfinanziamentoalladivisionericercaesviluppoècomplessoedèstato

spessoproblematicoperdiverseaziende.Qualèoqualisonolefontidifinanziamentodelle

attivitàdiACMel’eventualediscontinuitàdifontidifinanziamentoèmotivodidifficoltà

dalpuntodivistagestionale?

Domandaindispensabilepercapirecomefunzionaunarealtàchefaattivitàdiricercae

sviluppo.Ovviocheledinamichecambianoinbasealladimensionedell’entitàealla

tipologiadell’attività.Adesempio,ilcampomedicoefarmaceuticohaunafinanzache

arrivadamolteplicifonti,perchéèunprodottostrategicodoveinterferisceanchela

politica,cosìcomeilmilitare.Lafinanzainuncontestodiinnovazionecontatantissimo,

soprattuttonelmioambitoincuilaricercacosta;losviluppodiun’ideacosta,anchela

suarealizzazione.Traimieicompitic’èquellodireperirefontidifinanziamento;

viviamoinunpaesedovenoncisonoaiuticoncretiperchénonc’èlacultura,la

mentalità,eviviamoinunpaesemoltocomplicatoincuiisoldiadisposizionesonostati

usatidamoltepersoneperaltriscopi.Questaaziendaèstatasempreautofinanziata

negliannid’oro;lacrisiincuisiamoentratihageneratodifficoltà,nonvièpiùlafinanza

diprima.Chiaramenteinunaparteabbastanzaimportantesiamofinanziatidaistituti

bancariacuièmoltodifficilefarpassareilpensierochequivienefattaricerca.Oggigli

affidamentisonoconcessi,masiragionasuparametrieuropei,chenonrispecchiano

quellidiunarealtàdovesifaricercaesviluppo;magariprimadiarrivarealprototipo

finalehodovutocostruirlodueotrevolte,unrientroeconomicononsemprec’è.Il

finanziamentononvienecapito.Paradossalmentecihannofinanziatoancheifornitori,

109

concedendociladilazionedipagamentocheèunaformadifinanziamento.Quindianche

questoèunaspettointeressante,fornitoricoinvoltiinqualcosadipiùgrande;nelle

macchinechefannoilgirodelmondoc’èancheilprodottodelfornitore.Èunaspeciedi

pubblicitàocculta,eppurec’è.Ladiscontinuitàdeiflussidifinanziamentoèmotivodi

difficoltàperchéinterrompereunprocessodiricercaèunguaio,durantemomentidi

crisiabbiamofattoinmodochelaricercavenissesempreportataavanti,ottimizzandoi

processi,gliordinieccetera.Siparlatantodifinanziamentiagevolati,atassipercentuali

dapartedellostato,CEE.InambitoCEEcisonotantissimisoldimaindirizzatia

specifichetematiche,comeadesempioall’ambitofarmaceuticoegeneralmentead

ambitistrategiciincuinonrientriamo;inoltredeisoldichearrivavanosenepoteva

usufruireaprogettogiàfatto,quindibisognavaaverelacapacitàdifinanziareilprogetto

prima,einognicasoifinanziamenticoprivanosoloil10%deicosti,noncostituendo

l’elementovincenteperildecollodiunaricerca.Inoltre,c’eraec’èunadocumentazione

immanedacapire,chepresupponechel’aziendasiamoltostrutturata.Ilproblemapoi

dellepiccoleaziendediricercaesviluppoècomedivenirestrutturate,perchésesi

riesceatracciaretuttoilprocesso,dall’ideaallarealizzazionedelprototipo,serveuna

buonaamministrazionedell’azienda,analisideicosti,preventivazionediunfuturo

progetto,reperimentodellerisorsesulmercato;quindièimportantissimomadifficile

gestireetracciarecosìtantoun’aziendachefaricercaesviluppo:devicambiarela

mentalitàdellepersone.Deviinnanzituttofarcapireilperchésianecessarioquesto

cambiamento;sono2annichecistolottando,horaggiuntorisultatidicuivadofiera,che

servonoallaprogrammazionefutura,cheèunapartefondamentale.Visonoduepunti

daapprofondire:unoèilmodelloorganizzativodelleaziendechefannoattivitàdi

ricercaesviluppo,ambitoPMI;poimichiedospessoselepersoneaddettealla

progettazionesianonaturalmentepredisposteadaffrontareiltemadellasostenibilitào

devonoessereeducatiaquestonuovopensiero.Educatidachi?Alloraiopoihoscritto

unafraseinquestotempoibridoincuiilconfinedellacreativitànonpuòammettere

sovranismi,oèfusionediconoscenzeoèfaticainfuturo.Ilfuturosaràfaticosoenoi

dovremmoavereiltempodiriprendercidaanniincuiabbiamovissutolarinascitadel

paese;l’esplosionedeglianni‘80cihainqualchemodoadagiato,adessosiamocostretti

adaffrontareilfuturoadunavelocitàsupersonica.Unaltropensieroèchelamacchina

siaunarivoluzioneantropologica:lasfidadellasocietànell’eradigitalerisiedenella

comprensioneegestionedell’evoluzionedell’interfacciauomo-macchina,l’evoluzione

110

adattivadallainterazioneconflittualeadunadattamentopassivodeimovimenti

dell’uomoalleineziedellemacchine.ImportantiinvestimentiinITnonsisonotradotti

inunmiglioramentodellaproduttività;siècompresocheladifferentevelocitàdi

cambiamentochecaratterizzalatecnologiacostituivaunfattoreinibitorechegenerava

undisallineamentotratecnologiaeorganizzazione.Orastiamovivendounmomento

ancoradiverso,mal’elementodell’interfacciauomomacchinaèancorapresente;forse

nonl’abbiamoanalizzatobene,cisiamoconcentratisolosullamacchina.Difficiletrovare

l’equilibrio,cistiamoadattando,mailmondosicomportacomeseavessimogiàdigerito

tuttequesteproblematiche,quandoinrealtànonècosì.Ilconflittosiègeneratoperché

nonsièpredispostoilnecessarioprimadifarpartireundiscorsodelgenere.Sta

succedendocosìanchenellatecnologiatroppospinta;gliutilizzatoridovremmoessere

tutti,machepercentualeèrealmenteingradodiinteragireconquestistrumenti?

Tagliamofuoriunafasciadipopolazioneimportante,chenonsonosologlianziani;èuna

partedeigiovani.E’unelementopreoccupante,perchéseungiovanerimanelontano

dallagestionedellecose,chepersonasarànelfuturo?Saràemarginato.Irisultati

dell’INVALSI(Istitutonazionaleperlavalutazionedelsistemaeducativodiistruzionee

diformazione)favederelacunepreoccupanti;oeduchiamoinmanierasbagliataoc’èun

gapalivellointellettivo.Comecisiinterfacceràconunsistematecnologicoavanzato?

L’ultimopensieroperquantoconcerneleproblematichedicreareunmodello

organizzativonelleaziendechefannoattivitàdiricercaesviluppoèlagestionedelle

risorseumane;sonooggiilverogapcompetitivodelleaziende.Sceglierediposizionare

lepersonegiustenonèun’attivitàimprovvisabile,èunprocessodelicatocheportaal

cambiamentodell’organizzazionedeiteamchesolitamentesonocreatidallacasualitào

dallacommistione“randomica”traturnoverepercorsidicrescitapersonale.Civuoleun

approccioscientificoediquestosonoconvinta.Mihaincuriositounarticolodelcasodi

un’aziendadiBrescia,MetallurgicaSanMarco,chehaintrodottoinaziendadue

strumenticomunementeusatiincampobiomedico.Ilprimoèquellochevienechiamato

nasoelettronico,cheèingradodianalizzareimetabolitiemessidalcorpo,variabilia

secondadeidiversistimolisensorialiedellesituazionidicontesto,chepermettedi

rilevarelareazionefisiologicaedivalutarel’aperturaochiusuraemotivacheogni

personahaneiconfrontidell’altra.Ilsecondoèilneurobiofeedback,cheserveacaptarei

segnalifisiologiciindicatoridellostress,ilchedeterminailquadrodescrittoprima.La

neuroscienzainfabbrica.Umanaanalytics,spin-offdell’UniversitàdiChieti,haportato

111

inquestaaziendalasperimentazione,maèbellocapirecomesonoentratiinazienda.

Primahannostudiatoilprocessoproduttivoeliminandolecriticità;ilmiglioramento

tecnologicoconseguenteharesonecessariaunaridefinizionedeiruoliorganizzativi

interni.Aquestopuntosonoentrateincapoleneuroscienze;hannoindividuatole

relazionidifiduciaeirapportiintercorrentitralefunzionitrasversaliepoiimportato

unpercorsovoltoallaformazionediungruppodiresponsabili,manageredirigentiad

alteprestazioni.Seriuscissimoadarrivarevicinoallasoluzioneprospettataavremmo

delleaziendeperfettedovetuttitrainano.Èun’epocastoricaincuinontuttihanno

vogliadilavorareequestacosafapaura,perchésiamofisicoecervello;partidelnostro

corpochevannogestite,altrimentiscaturisconodisastrianchenellavitaprivata.Maila

societàsièrivelatacosìdeboleeincapacediaffrontareleproblematiche;lestesse

problematichesonostateportateinazienda.Misonotrovataagestireancheproblemi

personali,manonpossoentrarenellavitadellepersone,èunruolochenonèilmio.

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Interview3:Mr.AndreaMarinoCerrato

InqualitàdidirettoredellaMEPBusinessSchool,qualepensasiailruolodellaformazione

aziendale?Pensachepossaesserepromotricedicambiamentoorganizzativo,nonsoloin

terminidiconoscenzaecompetenzedellerisorseumanemaanchediclima,cultura,valore

evisioni?

Lascuoladiformazioneèstatafondatapiùd3annifaepersuastessanaturanonèsolo

unafabbricadicompetenze,èstataistituitaproprioperchédovevaessereunmomento

dicondivisionedelleesperienzequotidianedilavoroinunambientechesiapiù

favorevoleallacollaborazioneedallacondivisonedipensieri,idee,suggerimentiche

altrimentinellaquotidianitàlavorativaavrebberopotutodisperdersi,copertidalla

contingenza,ansiaoconcitazione,edallacorrettanecessitàdiraggiungereirisultati

quotidiani.Nellascuoladiformazioneinvecenoivorremochesipotesse-tutti,

chiunque-cooperareinunamanierapiùaperta,rilassata,costruttivaemeno

autoregolamentatadallaquotidianitànonscrittadeirapportiaziendali.Perché

riteniamochelosviluppodirelazionidialtolivellotratuttelecompetenzeaziendalisia

lachiaveperl’innovazionefuturaedilcambiamento.Ritentiamocheilcambiamento

nonsiaunicamenteraggiungibiletramitelacompetenza;ilfattodiessereaconoscenza

diunatecnicanuovanonmidàlasicurezzachemidiarisultatosenzaprimafareiconti

conlepersone,chedovrannoapplicarle,viverleeportarleavanti.Eccoperchélascuola

diformazioneècontenitoredicompetenze,diformazioneclassicamaèsoprattuttoun

luogoincuituttiicollaboratoriaziendalipossonoconfrontarsiinunamanieradifferente

daquellocheaccadeognigiornoalivellodistabilimento,officina,ufficio

amministrativo.Quindièunpostoincuilecompetenzeaziendalipossonomanifestarsia

livellounpo’piùalto,possonoastrarsidallaquotidianitàpertentaredidarerisposte

nuove.Inquestocrediamochelascuoladiformazionedebbaesserenecessaria

all’internodelcorpusaziendale

Unodeitrattidistintividellamediaimpresadeltessutoitalianoèillegameconilterritorio

elesueistituzioni.Laformazioneinternapuòesserevistacomerispostaallelacunedel

sistemaoèpiuttostoun’integrazionechecontinuailpercorsoformativodelleistituzioni

delterritorio?Sipercepisceunamancanzaformativaaldifuoridelcontestoaziendale?

113

Siamoallesogliediunanuovanecessitàformativatoutcourtdellapersona,cheparte

sicuramentedallascuoladell’obbligofinoaquellaavanzata,maunaformazione

continuachenonèstatarecepitanédaltessutoformativoistituzionale,manemmeno

dall’impresa.Riteniamochelascuoladiformazioneaziendale,cometuttelealtre

Accademyaziendali,nonrispondaadunparadigmaanticopercuirispondeadelle

lacunedellaformazioneinambitoobbligatorio,maadunalacunachenél’universitàné

l’industriahannopercepito,edèquelladipotergarantireallepersoneinambitosia

lavorativochesocialeunaformazionenecessariacontinuadovutaalfattocheillivellodi

complessitàincuilapersonasitrovaadagiresiaalivellolavorativochepersonaleè

arrivataaduntalelivellodicompenetrazioneditecnologieedicomplessitàchela

formazionerelegataadunsoloperiododellavitaèinsufficiente.Certoècheperòla

formazioneindustrialeediaziendanonpuòessereintesacomeuncontinuumcon

quellauniversitaria,nelsensochevadoaripianarequellochel’universitànonhadato.

Laformazioneindustrialeinambitoaziendaledevepotergarantireunacrescita

strutturalechenonsiamaiinterrotta,perchéuntempoillivellodicomplessitàpoteva

esserecontrollato,arrivandoadunlivellominimodiconoscenza.Illivellodicomplessità

attuale,chesiconfrontaadessoconilparametrotempo,cosacheinveceunavoltanon

succedeva,nonpuòessererelegatoaquestolivellominimodiconoscenza.Non

esistendopiùquestolivello,c’èlanecessitàchelaformazionesiacostanteecontinua:se

nonapprendonuovetecnichegiornalmenteiosonogiàindietro.Enonpossiamo

pretenderechel’universitàfacciaquestoperunaquestionetemporale.Quindideve

esserciunaltroentecheproseguelaformazione,quindinonrispondeallelacunedel

sistema,perchéilsistemahaunsuocompito:formare,strutturarel’individuo.

Dopodichélastrutturadeveessererielaboratacostantemente,confrontandosisempre

conl’attivitàformativa,chedeveperforzadicosefareilpaioconl’attivitàprofessionale,

quindiènormalechevengacontinuataall’internodell’attivitàaziendale.Quindièun

continuumrispettoallaformazioneistituzionalemaanchequalcosadicompletamente

diversoperchéfattainambitoincuiilformatodeveconfrontarsiimmediatamenteconil

risultato.Mentrenellaformazioneistituzionaleirisultatisononell’ambitoformativo

stesso,ilcontestoaziendaleèqualcosadipiùcomplesso,èoperativo.Nonpuòesserela

stessacosa,manonèneancheunandareacompletarequellochelaformazione

istituzionalenonhafatto.Quindil’evoluzionesaràquelladicreareinterdipendenzatrai

duesistemi;dunquelaformazioneistituzionaledovràdialogareconquellaaziendalee

114

viceversa.Avrannosempreconnotazionidiverse.L’unicacosasicuraèchesarà

necessariochequestaformazionenonsiainterrotta.Sicuramentel’universitàpotràdare

moltoallaformazioneaziendale,malaformazioneaziendalepotràdaremoltoaquella

istituzionale,purrimanendoentrambenelloroalveoprincipale.

LaMEPBusinessSchoolèstatailfruttodiunanecessitàattualeodiunaprevisione

lungimirante?

E’sicuramentecogentegestirelenuovecompetenzeattraversounaorganicaeordinata

individuazioneecondivisione,maèaltresìimportantepensareall’attivitàformativa

comequalcosachesiconfrontaconilrisultatoquotidianomaanchesullungoperiodo.

Forselaformazionesullerisorseintangibilieilcapitaleumanoèquellapiùlungimirante

chepuòfareun’aziendaanchenelpensareaséstessa.

Comeabbiamodetto,laformazionecontinuanonrisiedeesclusivamentenell’azienda;la

complessitàdelmondoincuiviviamoelavoriamononpuòchetrarreprofittodauna

formazionechevienefattainambitoaziendale.Lecompetenze,ilmodusoperandidella

scuoladiformazioneèunluogodicondivisione,nondisomministrazionedinozioni,è

unluogodicondivisionediesperienze.Questononpuòchefarbeneefarpaioconla

parolaprogressocheabbiaachefareconilterritorioincuituttinoicollaboratorici

troviamoarelazionarciunavoltafuoridiqui.Èperquestochelascuoladiformazione

nonèunacosadiversarispettoaquellaistituzionaleperchégarantisceilmantenimento

diunastrutturaricettivacognitivachepoipuòesserescaricatanonsoloinaziendama

intuttelefasiesperienzialidiunapersona.

Quindimisembradicapirecheanchelerisorseumaneabbianocomunqueunruolo

centrale;perMEPlerisorseumanesonovistecomeunfattorediproduzione,meraforza

lavoroocomeuncapitaledavalorizzare?Icorsisonovoltisolamenteadunosviluppo

professionaleosonoparalleliadunacrescitapersonale?

Sicuramenteilcapitaleumanointesocomeunorganismocomplessochepossacrescere

digiornoingiornoèsemprestatoimportante,chequestacrescitasiacostanteechesia

riconosciutacomeilrealepotenzialeproduttivodellanostraimpresa.L’unico

macchinariorealecheciconsentediessereleadernelsettoreèlacapacitàdiquesto

organismoviventedicontinuareadinnovarsigiornopergiorno.Pernoiquellocheè

115

interessanteèfareinmodochelamacchinaviventecontinuiadelaborareedinnovare;

perfarquestoriteniamochelaformazionesiaunadellepiùimportantileve,quindilo

strumentoprincipaledirisultatoèilcapitaleumano.

Nell’ambitodelcambiamentoèfondamentaleilbackgroundculturale,valorialeeuna

visioncondivisa.Quantoèdifficileladiffusionenell’organizzazionediunavisionedinuovi

valoriaziendali?Elaformazioneèunostrumentosufficienteoèdiausiliomanon

sufficientedeltutto?

Viviamoinunpuntodipassaggiotradueepochecheverrannostudiatecomecesure

importantidell’evoluzione.Perfareunadigressione,nonaccadevadallafinedell’Impero

RomanoinEuropachelasuperficieboschivadiannoinannosiincrementassecome

adesso.Sappiamobenissimo,soprattuttoperl’Italia,chepernoiilpaesaggioeil

territoriosonocultura.Quindisiamoall’internodiunguadochevededueapprocci

culturalidifferenti.Questocifacapirequantosiadifficilecambiarequestoparadigma

culturalenellamentedeinostricollaboratori,quindilaconsapevolezzacheunapersona

puòacquisiresoloformandosièlamaggiorearmaattraversocuiilcambiamentosarà

resopossibile.Nonpensiamochelaformazioneinquantotecnicanuovapossastimolare

oesserecambiamento,malaconsapevolezzachepuòdare,edèperquestochedeve

esseretrasversale;confrontandosiconildiverso,puògarantireilcambiamento,che

altrimentièdifficile,inquantoepocale.Nonèunarivoluzionesoloindustrialequellache

stiamosubendo,maancheumanisticaeculturalechestacambiandototalmenteil

contestoincuisisvolgonolenostreaziende,levite,lefamiglieetuttociòcheci

circonda.Quindilaformazioneèunostrumentodiconsapevolezza,nonilcambiamento

dipersé.Ilcambiamentosiotterràquandolepersonesisarannoresecontodiquello

chestarealmenteaccadendointornoanoi.Èunimportantissimoeserciziodi

democrazia;lademocraziasisviluppanontramiteazione,malaconsapevolezza,ela

stessacosaaccadeperilcambiamentoaziendale.

All’internodellascuoladiformazionevengonoorganizzaticorsiinerentiaitemidi

sostenibilitàsocialeeambientale?Eventualmentenevaluterebbelosvolgimentoinfuturo?

Icorsidisostenibilitàeimpattoambientaleliabbiamotenutiperchésiamocertificati

comeazienda(sistemaintegrato)eabbiamodovutoconfrontarciconilmantenimento

116

deiparametriambientaliedigestionedelpossibileimpattonegativochepuòavere

l’attivitàaziendalesull’ambientecircostante.Sicuramentedovrannoessereinseritiin

unapiùampiavisionedisostenibilitàdituttalafiliera,quindilacompartecipazione

deglistakeholderamonteeavalledellanostraattività.Pensiamochenelbrevefuturo

saràunanecessitàimprescindibileperdarecontinuitàall’aziendastessa,percuituttele

aziendedovrannoconsiderarelasostenibilitànoncomeorpelloorganizzativoquanto

comeprofondastrutturadifondazionediqualsiasiattività.

117

Interview4:Dr.AnnaPizzale

Laqualitàrappresentapermolteaziendeitalianedipiccolaemediadimensioneun

concettocardine,tantoimportantequantocomplesso,chenonsiriferiscesoltantoal

prodottofinitomapermeaiprocessiediflussiaziendali.Inchecosasiconcretizzala

QualitàinMEP?Eincosaconsistelasuagestione?

ANovembre2016ilSistemadiGestionedellaQualitàpresenteinMEPèstatoritenuto

dall’entecertificatoreBureauVeritasidoneosecondolanormaUNIENISO9001:2015,

cosìanchelasaldaturasecondolanormaUNI3834parte4del2006.

Taletraguardosièconcretizzatograzieallavoroattentoepartecipedituttii

ResponsabilidiFunzionenonsoloperl’analisidelleprocedureinesseremaancheperla

redazionedellapartedocumentaleeilreperimentoeformalizzazionediquelle

informazionechesecondolanuovanormavengonodefinite“documentate”.

AttualmenteilSistema,proprioperchédirecenteimplementazione,ècontinuamentein

diveniresottomoltiaspettievienemonitoratocostantementeeproattivamente.

AllabasedelladefinizionediSistemaQualitàc’èilconcettodi“Sistema”qualeinsiemedi

oggetti(parti,componenti,funzioniecc.)legatitralorodarelazionidiinterdipendenza.

Interdipendenzacheintegraelegal’interventoeffettuatosoloperunasingolaparteal

tutto,percuiquandosiparladisistemal’approccionecessariodeveperforzadicose

esseretrasversale,onnicomprensivoedesperto.

Conl’approcciosistemicononsivuoleassolutamentesminuirel’importanzadeisingoli

componentimasiintendeconsiderarliestudiarliinragionedelloroessere“partidiun

Sistema”integratoeresiliente.

Perottenerequestoimportanterisultatoènecessariopianificareeorganizzarele

attività,iruoli,leresponsabilità,isupportioperativiinmododacoinvolgeretuttele

funzioniaziendali.

Inbasealleconsiderazionifatte,emergecheilSistemaQualitàinteressituttelefasi

operativeetuttalafilieraapartiredalprimocontattoconilclienteelesueesigenzefino

all’implementazioneemantenimentodiunasoddisfacenteesostenibilerisposta.

Riassumendo,perQualitàinMEPsiintende:

• attenzionealclienteinprimis,

118

• pianificazionedelleazioniedeiprocedimenti,

• miglioramentocontinuo,

• partecipazioneecoinvolgimentoatuttiilivelliaziendali,

• formazioneattraversolanostraMEPBusinessSchool.

VièunrapportotraQualitàeSostenibilità?Adesempio,traQualitàedambiente?Inche

cosaconsisteilsistemaintegratoqualitàeambiente?

DaFebbraio2019ilnostroSistemadiGestioneèdiventato“integrato”questovuoldire

cheallaormaiconsolidatanormaISO9001:2015,cheriguardanoisistemidigestione

dellaqualitàeUNI3834periprocessidisaldaturasièaggiuntalagestionedellanorma

ISO14001:2015relativaallagestionedisistemiambientali.

NaticomesistemiISOindipendentil’unodall’altro,lalorofusioneinun’unica

prospettivahapermessodigestirealmeglioilprocessoproduttivod’impresa,graziea

unavisioned’insiemedellepeculiaritàdiciascuno.

Unagestioneintegratarisultautileperavereadisposizioneproceduredisnellimento

concretepermoltiaspettidell’amministrazioneaziendale:èinfattiimportantericordare

chel’adesioneaquestenormerimanevolontariaepertantoMEP,aderendovi,hascelto

diconferireunvaloreaggiuntoaipropriprocessiaziendali.

L’attenzioneallasostenibilitàèsemprepiùparteintegranteedeterminantenella

formulazionedellestrategieaziendali,pertalemotivoimponeinevitabilmenteun

ripensamentoeadeguatocambiamentodeiprocessiedellefunzioni.Ilcriteriosistemico

disostenibilitàèunapresadiposizionechiarasiariguardoglieffettidelbusiness

aziendalesull’ambientesiasullanecessitàdiintegrare,replicareeimplementaresé

stessoatuttiilivellidellacatenadelvalorecondivisacontuttiglistakeholder(sia

internicheesterni).Anchepertalemotivoabbiamochiestoainostrifornitoridi

adeguarsiadalcunistandardambientali(prevalentementeriferitiallanormativa

cogente)edinternamenteabbiamoadeguatoiprocessiaffinchérispondesseroagli

obiettivicheMEPsièdataperfarfronteallasostenibilitàambientale.

119

GestirelaQualitàsignificamantenereglistandarddasemprepresentiinAzienda,o

crearnedinuovi?Quindi,laQualitàdeveesseremantenutaocreataexnovo?

Ilconcettodiqualitàhaassuntoneltempomaggiorisignificatienuoveimplicazioni

cercandodiraggiungerelamassimaaffidabilitàesoddisfazionedelcliente,finoafarlo

diveniresinonimodieccellenzapropositiva.Laqualitàèlostrumentoglobale

dell’impresa,necessariopermantenersicompetitivinelmercatoattraversol’evoluzione

diprestazionierisultatimisurabili,sottopostiacontinuomiglioramentoneltempo.Non

èpiùvistacomeunpuntod’arrivoinuncontestostatico,quantocomeunpercorsodi

crescitastrutturata,intenzionaleemisurabilemasoprattuttocontinuaeinuncontesto

dinamico.Pernoilaqualitàèunimpegnoquotidiano,unasfidacontinuaneldefinire

standard,modelli,processieprocedure,ècontinuomiglioramentodeiserviziedei

prodotti,consapevolidinonpoterlimaiconsiderareperfettieconsolidati,edèquesto

tipodiapprocciochevogliamooffrirealmercato.Pertalemotivocerchiamodi

rispondereallenormesoddisfacendoglistandard,monitorandonegliindicatoridi

performancecontemporaneamenteaccettandolesfidechenasconointernamenteedal

mercatosunuoviobiettivichedeterminanonuoviindicatoridiperformanceinotticadi

miglioramentocontinuo.

Qualisonolecircostanzepiùproblematicheedifficoltosechesiincontranointerminidi

controlloemantenimentodellaQualità?Qualèl’importanzadellaQualitàall’internodella

filiera?Quantoincidenellesceltedeifornitori/partner?Èfontedivantaggiocompetitivo

perMEP?

AttualmentecistiamoconfrontandoconunagestionemoltopiùpuntualedelleNon

Conformità.Nellospecificostiamoacquisendomaggiordimestichezza

nell’individuazionedeicostidellaNonQualitàgeneratadalleNonConformitàsiadi

processochediprodotto.

Internamente,stiamosensibilizzandotuttelefunzioniconilconcettochelagestione

dellaNonConformitànonèmeraindaginedellacausaericercadelcolpevolequanto

invecepreziosaopportunitàdianalisideiprocessiinternieloroimprescindibile

possibilitàdimiglioramento.

120

AnalizzandoproprioleNC(NonConformità)Fornitorecirendiamocontoquantola

gestionedelleNonConformitàsiaancorabisognosadiulterioreimplementazione.La

qualitàdeisingoliprodottidanoiacquistatiimpattadecisamentenellaoperativitàdel

nostroprodottofinale:perquestoriteniamomoltoimportanteeducareifornitoricritici

allaqualitàedallespecificherichiestediMEP;ilfornitorediventaunpreziosopartner

chelavorafiancoafiancoconMEP.Cisiamocimentatiindiversecollaborazionicon

grossipartnerpersvilupparenuovesoluzionichesianosiamigliorativecheinnovative

anchepartendodall’analisipuntaledelleNCrilevate:taleapprocciosembrafunzioni

pertantoriteniamochequestasialastradagiusta!

121

Interview5:Mr.ClaudioMiconi

CosasignificaperLeiSostenibilitàd’impresa,einchecosasiconcretizzainMEP?

(Inchecosasiconcretizzalasostenibilitàsociale?Equellaambientale?)

E’untemacheèstatosviluppatoasuotempodallacommissionemondialeper

l’ambienteperlosviluppodelleNazioniUnite,parliamofineanni‘80–inizioanni‘90,in

cuisisonoconcretizzatetretematichecheafferisconoallasostenibilità.Parliamodi

sostenibilitàambientale,sostenibilitàsocialeesostenibilitàeconomica.Ilmioruoloin

aziendaèlimitatoallasostenibilitàambientaleesociale.Perquantoriguardala

sostenibilitàsocialeunodegliaspettipiùimportantisulqualel’aziendasista

impegnandogiàdamoltoanni,èquellodifareformazionemoltospintaaidipendenti,

tramiteunaistituzioneaziendalecheèlaMBS(MEPBusinessSchool).Poigarantiamo

contributiegaranzieatuttiilavoratoricheoperanoinazienda,abbiamodatodei

contributiadesempioalcomunediReanaperimportantilavorichestannoavvenendo

sullastrada.Visonodelleoperediriqualificazionemoltoimportantidellaviacomunale

diquestazonaindustriale.LaMEPhafornitodeicontributialcomunediReana.Queste

operediriqualificazioneconsentirannodiesseremoltopiùfunzionalisiaperl’azienda

cheperilterritorio;lazonasaràmoltopiùpresentabile,visaràfinalmenteunapista

ciclabile,aiuole,esoprattuttoquesteoperegarantirannoancheunamaggioresicurezza

siaperlaveicolazionestradalesiaperidipendentidellaMEP,perchéoperiamosu

entrambiilatidellastradaedèimportantegarantirelasicurezzasuipassaggipedonali.

L’aziendastaportandoavantiimportantiattivitàdisponsorizzazione,adesempioconla

fondazioneTelethon;siamoassociatiadAnimaimpresa,unaassociazionediimpreseche

promuovelaculturadellasostenibilità,epoisiamolegatialterritorio.Lemagliettedei

ragazzidellesquadredicalciojunioresfinoallasquadrapiùimportantedellasocietà

calcisticadelcomuneriportanosullamagliettailmarchioMEP.Perquantoriguardala

sostenibilitàambientale,laMEPhafattoinquestoultimoperiododegliimportanti

sforzi.Inprimisinmateriadirifiuti,nelsensochestiamoattuandolamassima

differenziazionedeirifiuti,chesignificapoimassimizzarelapossibilitàdiriciclaggio

deglistessi,entrandonelconcettodieconomiacircolare.Conilsupportodelconsorzio

dismaltimentorifiutidialcunicomunilimitrofidellaprovinciadiUdine–consorzioA&T

2000–abbiamopromossoancheunadifferenziazionedeirifiutiditipononindustriale

maassimilabileairifiutidomestici.Abbiamoancheconillorosupportocercatodi

122

trovaredelleformeperdifferenziareilpiùpossibile.Adesempio,ilresiduosecco,

difficilmentericiclabileecheunavoltacostituivaunaquotaveramenteimportantedei

rifiutidell’azienda,èstatoadessoridottoallaminimaparte.

Stiamoutilizzandogiàdaalcuniannileverniciall’acqua,riducendocosìleemissioniin

atmosferariducendolaquantitàdisolventeall’internodellevernicicheutilizziamo

regolarmenteperverniciarelenostremacchine.Questohaeffettibeneficisì

sull’ambiente,maanchesullasicurezzadellepersone,siccomelavorareconverniciche

presentanountenorebassodisolventesignificaanchegarantireunambientepiù

salubreeanchemenopericolosodalpuntodivistadeipossibiliincendi,inquantotali

vernicinonsonoinfiammabili.

Stiamoeffettuandoancheimportantiinterventisulfrontedellalimitazionedeiconsumi

energetici,cercandomesepermesenuovesoluzionicheimplichinol’utilizzodirisorse

naturali,nellafattispeciel’acqua.Tuttequesteattivitàcihannopermessoil

riconoscimentodialcunecertificazionicheattestinoglisforzisostenuti.Inparticolare,

perquantoconcernel’ambiente,l’aziendahaottenutolacertificazioneambientaleISO

14001,nelfebbraiodel2019.Conriferimentoallasostenibilitàsociale,abbiamo

ottenutoilmassimopunteggioottenibile(trestelle)afferentealratingdilegalità,

rilasciatodall’AutoritàGarantedellaConcorrenzaedelMercato,econsentealleaziende

diottenere3livellidirating.Dopounpercorsodicirca2-3annisiamoriuscitiaottenere

ilmassimopunteggioammissibile.Questocihapermessodiavereun’ottimavisibilità

sulmercato,eciòpuòancheaveredeiritornidalpuntodivistafinanziario,nelcasoin

cuil’aziendadecidessediotteneredeiprestiti.

Qualisonoleprincipalifontienergetiche?

Leprincipalifontienergetichesonol’energiaelettricaedilgasmetano.Quest’ultimoci

permettedialimentarelacabinadiverniciatura,aumentandolatemperaturaalsuo

internoperpermetterel’essicazionedellaverniceapplicata.Questedueformedienergia

vengonoacquistatedalConsorzioFriuliEnergia,ilqualetienecontodiaspetti

ambientaliluistessonell’acquistodellefontienergetiche.Nel2015abbiamofattouna

diagnosienergeticaaziendale(DEA)moltospintaperandareaverificareevalutaretutti

iconsumienergetici,anchepercapiredoveèpossibileotteneredeimiglioramenti.Non

siamoun’aziendaenergivora–secondoirequisitideldecretoitalianochenedefiniscei

tratti.Inoltre,iostessoeffettuodelleverificheperiodichesuiconsumienergetici,per

123

controllarechenonvisianodeidiscostamentiimportanti,eperverificarechele

soluzioniadottateinaziendacontinuinoadessereefficaci.

Qualiimaterialisostenibili?Taliscelteseguonounalogicaancheeconomica,oltreche

socio/ambientale?

Ibeneficiambientaliequellieconomicivengonomessiallostessopiano.Giàinfasedi

progettazionevienevalutatalapossibilitàdiutilizzodimaterialiriciclabili,oppuredi

acquistarecomponentidellamacchinacheriducanoadunminimoiconsumi.Questoci

puòpermettere,grazieancheallenuovetecnologie,diesserecompetitivisulmercato

grazieallapropostadiprodotticonunlimitatoconsumoenergeticoduranteilloro

utilizzo.

Sempreinambitodimaterialiverdi,anchelacartachevieneadoperatanegliufficiè

certificataFSC(ForestStewardshipCouncil),ilchesignificacheproviene

esclusivamentedaforestecertificate;inoltreutilizziamoimballaggiinlegnoperspedire

lemacchine,cheèasuavoltacertificatocontrattamentifitosanitariISPM15dellaFAO

(FoodandAgricultureOrganization)chelimitanolapossibilitàdiproduzionedi

organisminocivieinfestantiperleforeste.Ancheperilciclodivitadelprodotto

pensiamononsoloaiprocessiproduttivimaanchealprodottostesso.Quandoforniamo

unamacchinaalcliente,questaèaccompagnatadalmanualedoveèspecificatocomesi

smaltiscelamacchinapergarantirelasalvaguardiadell’ambiente.

Vièpossibilitàdisfruttamentodell’economiacircolareedisimbiosiindustriale?

Riusciamoadapplicareefficacementelagestionedeirifiuticonunaforte

differenziazione.Trattiamoinaziendadai20ai30codiciCER(CatalogoEuropeodei

Rifiuti);differenziarepiùrifiutisignificapoterpoigestiremegliolalororiciclabilità.Tra

irifiutichericicliamovisonocarta,cartone,plastica,legno,materialiferrosi(scartidel

tondinopercollaudarelamacchina,chevengonoscartatieraccoltiinundeposito

temporaneoperpoiesseresmaltititramitesocietàautorizzateepoiriciclatotramite

fusioneinacciaierie).Questoèunesempiodieconomiacircolare.Unaltroesempioèil

legno,cheèaffidatoadelleimportantiaziendeitalianenelrealizzarepannellitruciolari

einMDF(MediumDensityFiberboard).Tuttiquestirifiutivengonopoiriciclatiequindi

gestiamounacertaeconomiacircolare.Anchelaplasticavienericiclataconunosforzo

124

condottocercandodidifferenziarealmeglioilseccoresiduodallaplasticastessa;anche

l’organicoumidovienegestitoinmanierarigorosapermettendocidiutilizzarehumuso

fertilizzanteperl’applicazioneagricola.

Ilmaterialeferrosovienefornitoadacciaieriechefondonoilmateriale.Vienefornito

all’acciaieriaatitologratuitooconuncorrispettivo?

Perfortunaquestotipodirifiutohaancoraunvalore.Èunmaterialepregiatoedhaun

valore.Ilclienteèunfornitore,lesocietàdismaltimentosonofornitoriconcettualmente.

Losmaltitorerecuperailmaterialeeloconsegnaalleacciaieriechepoilotrattanoelo

fondonoperriprodurrepoiquellocheserveperleindustrie.Tempofa(dieciannifa

circa)lostessodiscorsovalevaperlegnoecarta,poiquestimaterialihannopersovalore

pervariequestionidimercatoquindiattualmenteleaziendepaganopersmaltirli.

FinoaunannofaerainvigoreunsistemaelettronicoditracciabilitàdeirifiutiSISTRI,

maientratoinvigore,portatoavantipercircadiecianni,maleaziendevistaladifficoltà

operativanonlohannoquasimaiutilizzato,quindilostatonehasospesol’impiego.

Recentemente,partecipandoaduncorso,mièstatoriferitocheverràripristinatoun

altrosistemaditracciabilitàdeirifiutimoltopiùsempliceesisperachequestopermetta

unagestionepiùefficaceedeconomicadeirifiuti(adesempio,oralanormativaprevede

gestionemanualedellacontabilitàdeirifiuti).Benvengaunsistemaditracciabilitàpiù

sempliceedefficacedeirifiuti,chepermettadicontenereicostidellacontabilità

manuale.

Parlandodicertificazioniecompliance,qualisonoledifficoltàneldimostrareirequisiti

necessariperottenerle?Qualèilprocedimento?

L’aziendacièriuscitaintempibrevi(5-6mesi),manonèstatosemplice;nonèsemplice

perchéiprerequisitiperlecertificazioniambientalirichiedonolagaranziadella

conformitànormativa,laqualenonèsempliceeabbracciamoltetematiche.Grazie

anchealsupportodiunconsulentesiamoriuscitiatrovarelastradamaestraperla

sintesi.Lapartedifficileèstataesserecertidiaverelaconformitàallanormativa,che

deveessereufficializzata.Poil’altrograndelavoroèstatotrovareunsistemadigestione

aziendale,chenoiavevamo,maframmentato.Abbiamodovutopredisporloeorasta

dandoisuoifrutti.

125

LelogichesocialieambientalirappresentanoperMEPuncriteriodisceltadeifornitorie

viceversa?PericlientièuncriteriodisceltadiMEP?

Ilmercatoèmoltosensibilealconcettodisostenibilitàeambiente.AncheMEPquando

devefarelasceltadellefontidiapprovvigionamentotienecontodiqualità,prezzoe

questioniambientali.Èunalogicacondivisadamolteaziendenelterritorio,ehauna

rilevanza.Abbiamoancheunacertasensibilitàperilfattodiapprovvigionarcicon

fornitoricertificatidalpuntodivistaambientaleocheabbianogiàinstallatounsistema

digestione.Perquantoriguardalaclientelapossiamofarelestesseconsiderazioni;

spessoicolleghidell’areacommercialesegnalanorichiestediapprofondimentodel

mercatodeiclientisulfattosesiamocertificatiomeno.Ilmercatoèquindimolto

sensibileall’argomentodellasostenibilità,specialmenteambientale.

Lacertificazioneèlacilieginasullatorta,èun’ufficializzazionediqualcosachehaigià

fatto.E’fondamentaleperchégarantisceformalmentechel’aziendaseguetuttele

procedureelenormativecheportanoalrispettodell’ambiente.

Lafiguradell’HSESustainabilitymanagerinMEPèavvenutaperliberasceltaonecessità?

Lafiguranonrappresentaunobbligonormativomaènatadaun’esigenzaavvenutaun

annofa,natadallalungimiranzadelladirezioneaziendalechehacapitodidoverdare

organicitàerespiroaquellocheerailmioruolo;quindiunannofamièstatodettoche

eragiustoespanderelemiefunzioniperchéeranocosegiàfattemamaiufficializzate,

aggiungendolaparolaSustainabilityperchénoncisioccupapiùesclusivamentedi

sicurezza.Ladirezionepuntaallavorodigruppo,allavoroinsincronianell’ambitodel

sistemadigestione,alivellofisicomaanchedicomunicazione,pergarantireinmaniera

piùefficacetuttigliobbiettivichecisiamoposti.

126

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