Universities play a significant role in the economic development of society as they provide knowledge and skills that are essential for social sustainability. In recent years, universities shifted their focus towards student-centered education and need to reconsider their sustainable strategies to become more competitive by encouraging student co-creation behaviors. To create a unique experience, universities aim to involve students in creating and delivering their educational experiences. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the perceived quality of educational service and the institutional image of a university influence students’ value co-creation behavior, and the role of loyalty in this process. The study is based on two complementary studies conducted in an Italian public university. The first study involved 720 undergraduate students with one business management bachelor’s degree who completed a questionnaire to collect primary data. The second study used six focus groups to identify which specific students’ experiences and university activities stimulated co-creation behaviors. The results show that student loyalty plays an important mediating role between university image, students’ quality perception, and co-creation behavior. Additionally, only three dimensions of quality, namely quality non-academy aspects, quality reputation, and quality access have an impact on students’ loyalty. Therefore, only two dimensions of brand image, university brand knowledge (UK), and university brand prestige (UPR) have a direct effect on value co-creation behavior. These findings have important implications for higher education institutions (HEIs) to develop managerial strategies that increase students’ co-creation behavior. The co-creation process should be considered as part of HEIs’ image-building and quality policy-enhancing strategy. Despite the value co-creation approach being overlooked in studies on HEIs governance, this study highlights its potential as a strategic approach for improving service quality and university image.

In recent years, Italian Public Administrations (PAs) have swiftly adapted to flexible work arrangements due to the impact of COVID-19. The flexible work has led to addressing new challenges including the need to balance work demands with family commitments, a lack of social support, struggles with inadequate technology, and managing home interruptions that negatively affect home performance. Based on the job demands-resources (JD-R) model, the present study aims at examining the negative impact of home interruptions on smart working performance and the moderating role of two potential job resources: organizational support and perceived quality of the smart working. A convenience sample of 301 Italian public employees engaged in smart working completed an online questionnaire. Multivariate regression analysis results showed that organizational support plays a moderating role in reducing the negative effect of interruptions on home performance. However, the findings did not support a moderating role for the perceived quality of smart working. Overall, these findings highlight the critical role of social factors in buffering the negative effects of smart working, as compared to the quality of the technological arrangements. This information could be valuable for organizations looking to enhance the effectiveness of smart working by focusing on organizational support.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of university identification to explain students’ involvement in extra-role behaviours and turnover intentions. The theoretical model developed, specifies the relationships between university identity and identification and between identification and behavioural patterns.Design/methodology/approach: Data have been collected from a sample of 338 students from an Italian University. Then, they have been analysed adopting linear regression models (multiple when occurs) and a path analysis through structural equations models has been developed. The Sobel test has been used in the analysis to verify the mediator role of variables.Findings: The results show that: the university identity perception of students have significant effect on university identification process; and student-university identification have significant effect on student’s advocacy, that is negatively related to turnover intention.Originality/value: This paper provides support for the importance of brand management in higher educational context. Institutions would benefit from communicating their identities clearly, coherently and in a persuasive manner, emphasising those aspects of the university’s identity that students and future students will perceive as prestigious and similar to their identities.

This work presents a manufacturing case study focused on reducing waste in a corrugated paperboard packaging company located in Italy. Corrugated paperboard is the primary material used in transporting, distributing, and storing many products, particularly food productions. The project started in September 2020 with the aim of identifying the causes of some waste along the production process and the consequent planning of actions to reduce them. This project was implemented following the logic of lean manufacturing through the use of the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) methodology. The quality control tools for continuous improvement of the manufacturing process are used. The results achieved by the plant are significant in terms of economic and environmental sustainability. From an economic point of view, the measures implemented have allowed the plant to achieve, in the period between September 2020 and March 2021, a decrease from 10% to 9% of the percentage of the waste with a cost reduction approximately of € 17,000 for each of the first three months of 2021. From an environmental point of view, waste reduction is one of the objectives underlying the sustainability strategy adopted by the company, which has long been committed to the responsible management of its production processes to reduce its environmental impact.