LIBRI DI CARLO ODOARDI

The influence of characteristics of organization to expectations on an innovation on the training sector - With this research the relationship between the organizational climate and the expectations towards the introduction of an innovation was analyzed. The particular way an innovation is promoted, spread and supported determines expectations capable to trigger positive or negative behaviours towards it. The results showed that the organizational climate has a decisive influence in the making of expectations regarding the reception of an innovation. In order to verify such theory three climate dimensions were considered: communication quality, conflict and guidance. The results showed that a highly qualitative communication and guidance process lead to positive expectations towards the innovation. In contrast, any perceived conflict leads to negative expectations towards the innovation. Keywords: creativity, group innovation, individual innovation, organizational innovation, organizational support for innovation, training.

Le differenze di genere nelle scelte imprenditoriali: il caso spagnolo - Gender differences in entrepreneurial intentions and agentic traits frequently linked to entrepreneurship (locus of control, entrepreneurial self-efficacy, risk-taking propensity, and proactivity) were examined using a sample of 535 women and 283 men, all of them Spanish university students. Self-report data were collected through a questionnaire consisting of several scales. MANOVA results showed gender differences in entrepreneurial intention and entrepreneurial self-efficacy, men feeling more efficient to create a new venture and being more prone to do so than women. Nevertheless, major area and age explained differences in the variables studied better than gender. Keywords: entrepreneurship, career choice, gender-role stereotypes, agentic traits.

This work reports an innovative experience and particularly the logic and strategies used while creating, on the inside of a local corporation, a Laboratory of innovations for the development of continuous training. The Laboratory has a triple purpose: the introduction of new methods and instruments to survey the formative needs of the employees; the definition of an evaluation system capable of recognizing the formative efficiency (learning, approval and the transferability of their learning experience in their own work places); the support to the political (administrators) and technical (executives) decision takers in order to decide the personnel training politics. The Laboratory foresees a computerized system with two main fields: management of the needs survey and testing the operations realized.

The article examines two specific variables that play a decisive role in favoring innovative work behavior. These are an inter-individual variable (conflict with colleagues) and a contextual variable (organizational support of innovation). Innovative behavior can be defined as the intentional generation, promotion and realization of new ideas within a role, a workgroup or an organization. This study emphasizes the function of conflict and support as variables present in an organization favoring innovative performance. Keywords: personality, salespeople, test validity, test reliability.

The article is divided into two parts: the first reviews the phenomenon of innovation at an individual level, in relation to the group and to organization; or rather, some of the antecedents for activating innovation processes in an organizational context. The second article (which will be published in a subsequent issue of the journal) will report an empirical study conducted on scholastic organizations while observing two specific variables (considered antecedents) which determine innovative work behaviour: conflict and organizational support.

La scelta occupazionale e i comportamenti lavorativi dipendono da un insieme di fattori sia individuali che contestuali. I giovani intraprendono carriere di lavoro dipendente, autonomo o imprenditoriale sulla base delle proprie aspirazioni ma anche delle opinioni sul lavoro che si formano prevalentemente all’interno del contesto familiare e socio-economico di appartenenza. La presente ricerca mette in evidenza la coerenza degli atteggiamenti e delle opinioni sull’imprenditore e sul lavoro imprenditoriale di un gruppo di 287 giovani diplomandi e dei loro rispettivi 542 genitori. Tale coerenza si rileva sia nelle opinioni che negli atteggiamenti che i giovani esprimono verso il lavoro autonomo e imprenditoriale e porta a ipotizzare che le opinioni e gli atteggiamenti verso il lavoro si formino in prevalenza nella cultura familiare e del contesto sociale di riferimento.

L’obiettivo del presente articolo è di presentare i risultati di una ricerca che esplora il ruolo dell’influenza di differenti variabili (significati del lavoro, personalità, opinioni sull’imprenditore, pianificazione di carriera e atteggiamenti verso l’imprenditorialità) sulla preferenza imprenditoriale in un gruppi di studenti che stanno concludendo l’ultimo anno di scuola superiore. È stato testato un modello di equazione strutturale per verificare la relazione tra le differenti variabili. I risultati mostrano che le caratteristiche di personalità e le opinioni degli studenti sull’imprenditorialità hanno una significativa influenza sulla loro attenzione verso l’imprenditorialità (espressa attraverso una dichiarata preferenza a considerare una carriera imprenditoriale).