Search results for " start-up"
showing 10 items of 25 documents
“Fake it ‘til you make it”: The designer playground for crafting prototypes, orchestrating frauds and pushing the ecological transition
2022
In the past thirty years, there has been a radical change in almost every business sector: companies nowadays offer increasingly complete packages or “bundles,” i.e-, combinations of goods, services, assistance, self-service and customer-focused knowledge. But it is services that have the lion’s share. In this context, those involved in the servitization process, such as designers, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists, seem to focus more and more on the customer experience than on enabling technology. This has led to the birth of many successful new companies as well as to financial scandals. The aim of this article is to understand how the “fake ’til you make it” approach in design and b…
Enterprise Start-Up in the Euro-Mediterranean Area. The case-study of Mazara Del Vallo’s Fishing District and Consortium
2016
Over the last twenty years, the European Union’s policies aiming to foster the entrepreneurship in the Euro-Mediterranean countries have failed. The theoretical model underlying these policies is inconsistent with the characteristics of the entrepreneurial ecosystems of these countries.Since no enterprise can survive in the long run if it has inconsistent characters with the ecosystem in which it operates, in Euro-Mediterranean countries it is necessary to adopt a specific theoretical model on start-up business, different from the one described by the international literature. The fundamental principles of this theoretical model therefore must be drawn from the common characteristics of suc…
Start-up with or without inoculum? Analysis of an SMBR pilot plant.
2010
This study analysed a submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) start-up with the purpose of determining the best conditions to carry it out. In order to do this, a hollow fibre membrane module was installed in a submerged configuration in a pilot aerobic reactor. The experiment was then divided in two phases, lasting 65 days each. During phase 1, the pilot plant was started-up without inoculum of activated sludge and no sludge, withdrawal was performed. Conversely, in phase 2, the MBR pilot plant was started-up with sludge inoculum and the sludge concentration was kept constant. In both phases, the volumetric loading rate applied to the pilot plant was kept constant. The authors analysed the di…
Knowledge assets for internationalization strategy proposal
2021
[EN] Lack of trust, lack of references and the confidential nature of cybersecurity projects make internationalization in companies from the cybersecurity sector a great challenge. The development of lean methodologies over recent years has presented a method to reduce time and effort, measure performance in each step and pivot when it is necessary to apply a process to a different field. Considering that internationalization resembles entrepreneurship, because of uncertainty and risk in a new market where the value proposition should be validated, the Lean Start-up philosophy will serve as a theoretical framework in which to operate. The study of international challenges of cybersecurity c…
comparing two start-up strategies for MBRs: experimental study and mathematical modelling
2012
Abstract The performance of a membrane bioreactor (MBR), and mechanisms of fouling formation, may differ due to the start-up. Therefore, the start-up can constitute an aspect that critically influences MBR performance during its lifespan. Indeed, the start-up can influence the mechanisms of membrane fouling, which is of paramount importance in an MBR. In order to gain insights on the effects of the start-up, both experimental and mathematical modelling studies were carried out on an MBR pilot plant. The MBR pilot plant constituted of a hollow fibre membrane module, in a submerged configuration, was fed by real wastewater. Two experimental periods were carried out, lasting 65 days each, char…
Investor protection and business creation
2003
We study the effects of investor protection on the availability of external finance, entrepreneurship, and creation of new firms in an equilibrium search model of private capital markets. In addition to search frictions, we examine contract frictions, specifically interim and ex post moral hazard problems stemming from entrepreneurs’ possibilities to expropriate financiers. In our model, the government chooses the level of investor protection that determines the transferability of match surplus between entrepreneurs and financiers. The results indicate that anything that increases (decreases) entrepreneurship also increases (decreases) the creation of start-ups. The effect of investor prote…
Fostering entrepreneurial learning processes through Dynamic Start-up business model simulators
2018
Abstract Entrepreneurial learning is a critical process in realizing the success or failure of a new business venture, as it implies that would-be entrepreneurs acquire those strategic management competencies required to start and manage a new business. Actually, statistics on start-up survival/failure rate reveal that the main reasons for failure are related to a lack of entrepreneurial competencies of start-uppers. This paper argues that combining Business Model representation schemas with System Dynamics modelling may support potential start-up entrepreneurs in learning and experimenting how to turn a business idea into a real firm. System Dynamics modelling is a methodology that allows …
A relational view of start-up firms inside an incubator. The case of the ARCA Consortium
2018
Purpose Analyzing the entrepreneurial ecosystem related to the ARCA consortium, the purpose of this paper is to study the relationships among the start-up firms inside an incubator. Design/methodology/approach Thanks to the adoption of the relationships concentric model and the density concentric model, the paper highlights the role of relational conditions for innovative projects in partnership among the incubated firms. Reflections herein are tested via a qualitative research approach based on a single case study: the ARCA consortium. Findings This research found that about 32 percent of relationships inside the incubator support the emergence of short-term relationships among the incuba…
Analisi della fase di start-up di un bioreattore a membrana
2006
L’applicazione dei sistemi MBR, pur garantendo elevati rendimenti di rimozione, è ancora oggi limitata, a causa di alcuni fattori che ne condizionano il funzionamento. Tra questi, uno dei principali è il fouling dovuto ai fenomeni di sporcamento della membrana da parte della sospensione biologica. Nella memoria si riportano i primi risultati di uno studio che ha avuto l’obiettivo di definire l’evoluzione e l’influenza del fouling sul processo di filtrazione durante la fase di avviamento dell’impianto, avvenuto senza inoculo iniziale di fango. La sperimentazione è stata condotta in un impianto pilota costituito da un bioreattore all’interno del quale è stato installato il modulo di membrane …
Start-up and shutdown thermomechanical transient analyses of the IFMIF European lithium target system
2014
In the framework of the current IFMIF Engineering Validation and Engineering Design Activities (IFMIF/EVEDA) phase, ENEA is responsible for the design of the European concept of the IFMIF lithium target system which foresees the possibility to periodically replace only the most irradiated and thus critical component (i.e., the backplate) while continuing to operate the rest of the target for a longer period (bayonet backplate concept). With the objective of evaluating the performances of the system in terms of temperature, stress and displacement fields evolution during start-up and shutdown phases, an uncoupled thermomechanical transient analysis has been performed in close collaboration w…