Barbara Bigliardi graduated (with distinction) in Industrial Engineering and Management at the University of Parma and holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the same University. Since 2014 she is Associate Professor of Business and Engineering Economics at the Department of Engineering and Architecture of the same University. Her primary research interests focus around innovation and sustainability. She has authored or co-authored more than 150 papers published on international journal and conference proceedings. She is also member of the editorial board of several international journals.