Purpose: This study explores the state of the art of innovation support services within cooperation projects for innovation in Italy to shed light on the variety of actors that are supporting them and the functions they perform. Design/Methodology/Approach: The methodology applied for this study was based on a mix of methods used to monitor and…

The collaboration between university and industry under the institutional arrangement of the University Third Mission has been widely investigated by scholars and, more recently, with an increasing focus on the importance of trust. In this line of research, based on the study of six cases of collaboration in one of the more economically developed…

To date, understanding and empirical investigation of the internationalisation processes of university spin-outs (USOs) have been limited. Few studies have explored the role of the specific characteristics of their core technology, in particular their innovativeness, as a determinant of their early internationalisation. This is also an issue which…

Both the managerial literature and policymakers have recently emphasized the potential role of university spin-offs (USOs) as drivers of regional development. Specifically, USOs may support regional development by exploiting the scientific knowledge developed by their parent universities into industrial innovations, thus spreading knowledge…

The widespread adoption of school autonomy with accountability reforms in education has generated debate regarding the relationship between autonomy, innovation and accountability. While at the policy design level, these three elements are highly related, several authors highlight the contradictions among them. By analyzing key documents and…

The present research identifies the drivers of the growth of academic spin-offs (ASOs). Empirical studies have found few successful cases of ASOs from a firm-level perspective; many companies fail, and others tend to remain small without making a meaningful contribution to local economic development. Consequently, analysing the factors affecting…

The contribution describes a study on the organizational devices and the professional development programs carried out at the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) of the University of Siena and at the Teaching and Learning Lab (TLL) of the University of Macerata. The focus is on systemic actions capable to elicit innovation at an organizational…

Big Science is a fertile learning environment for the transfer of knowledge and technology to suppliers since it boosts economic performance, innovation and reputation. However, despite the growing importance of this topic in the literature, empirical evidence is still limited. This paper investigates technology transfer from Big Science through…

In the Italian university context, almost all universities offer blended degree courses, digital environments and e-learning systems. In many cases, dedicated centres also provide technical support and, less frequently, teaching and methodological support. The development of digital learning environments often does not correspond to the spread of…

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the effects of quality management practices (QMPs) on innovation in higher education (HE), and how organizational innovation (OI) may influence technical innovation. Design/methodology/approach: The hypotheses were tested with partial least squares structural equation modeling on a sample of 449 valid…

This study aims to understand the impact of a faculty development program emphasizing active learning (innovative teaching) attended by instructors of diverse disciplines at the University of Padova in Italy, which has had an 800-year history of using traditional approaches to teaching and learning. Using a community of practice theoretical…

The case study profiles the Aiku Centre at Ca' Foscari University in Venice, Italy, suggesting its role as a contemporary higher education institution committed to fulfilling its 'third mission' and addressing broader societal challenges. The Aiku Centre integrates artistic interventions with academic research and organizational practices,…

This work addresses the importance of innovation in entrepreneurial and business education to ensure that students develop the ability to make complex decisions and solve complex challenges. The intention was to incorporate the complexity theory in decision-making and problem-solving in business and entrepreneurship. To achieve this, we present…

After rehabilitation or treatment in hospitals, young people with disabilities often could not engage in a variety of sports due to their physical limitations related to their illness or disability. This gives rise to certain psychological problems, reduced self-esteem and self-confident. The aim of the ReSport project is to enable young people…

This article covers in its first part the digital educational policies elaborated in Italy as part of the plan known as "Piano Nazionale Scuola Digitale" (PNSD). This plan constitutes in fact the orientation document issued by the "Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca" (MIUR) for the introduction of a…