The development of new digital technologies is profoundly transforming maritime logistics. The presence of heterogeneous clusters comprising businesses and institutions renders the innovation process more complex compared to the past and other sectors. This course provides theoretical and managerial tools to analyse and evaluate the innovation processes necessary to improve logistic services' operational efficiency, quality, and reliability and reduce negative environmental and social externalities. Additionally, it delves into technology adoption processes to understand the mechanisms of innovation diffusion and distinguish the key innovators, users, and stakeholders involved.
The course aims to provide students with a solid theoretical and managerial knowledge foundation to understand and analyse the challenges related to innovation processes in maritime logistics. The program focuses on deepening the fundamental concepts associated with generating and implementing innovations, mainly systemic innovation processes involving a wide range of public and private actors. The course focuses on the adoption processes of digital technologies and their diffusion within the specific ecosystems of maritime logistics. The objective is to equip students with the skills necessary to identify the main innovative actors and users of technologies within these ecosystems, as well as to analyse the factors that can facilitate or hinder their diffusion. Furthermore, knowledge is provided to understand and evaluate the benefits and obstacles related to vital technological innovations, with particular attention to the automation of operational and managerial processes in terminals, energy management, and environmental and social sustainability.
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
It is assumed that the student has acquired a series of managerial competencies relevant to thoroughly understanding the topics covered in the course. Specifically, the student should be familiar with the following themes:
These topics are fundamental to ensuring the student's ability to follow the lectures adequately and to achieve a positive evaluation in the final exam.
Lectures, case studies analysis, and company testimonials.
Throughout the course, students will actively analyse and develop a case study. They will be organised into groups during the lectures, and each group will be assigned a specific case to examine using the methodologies learned during the course. At the end of the course, each group will present their project, proposing innovative strategies and solutions that emerged during the case analysis.
Students who have valid certification of physical or learning disabilities and who wish to discuss possible accommodations or other circumstances regarding lectures, coursework and exams, should speak both with the instructor and with Professor Serena Scotto (scotto@economia.unige.it), the Department’s disability liaison.
The course offers an in-depth understanding of innovation management processes in the specific context of maritime logistics. The program is structured into two parts. In the first part, students will learn the theories and practices of innovation management, focusing on strategies for generating, diffusing, and adopting innovations within corporate and ecosystem contexts. The second part of the course focuses on technological trends and specific innovation processes in the maritime logistics sector. Students will explore emerging developments in digitalisation and sustainability, with particular attention to their implications for maritime logistics management. Strategies and practices driving these transformations are analysed, considering technological innovations' environmental and social impacts.
Through an integrated approach between theory and practice, the course prepares students to tackle complex challenges and leverage emerging opportunities in the continually evolving field of maritime logistics.
The first part references Schilling M., Strategic management of technological innovation, McGraw-Hill Education.
For the second part, slides and supplementary materials (e.g., documents, book chapters, reports, etc.) will be discussed and made available on Aulaweb.
Attending students may be recommended additional reading on specific topics; supplementary readings and materials will be published on Aulaweb.
Ricevimento: The student office hours are scheduled on Wednesday, at 2,30 p.m. at the professor's office (Room I.1029. Level I, Department of Economics, Via Vivaldi 5. 16126, Genoa). A call on Teams may replace a meeting in person. It is recommended in both cases to contact the professor in advance for an appointment by sending an email to: buratti@economia.unige.it
Ricevimento: The student office hours are scheduled on Wednesdays at 2:30 PM at the professor's office (Room I.145, Level I, Department of Economics, Via Vivaldi 5, 1612 6, Genoa) or on Teams. In both cases, it is necessary to contact theprofessor via email in advance to arrange an appointment.
NICOLETTA BURATTI (President)
CIDATMA-FRANCESCO VITELLARO (President)
II semester
Oral exam
Details on the preparation for the exam and the level of knowledge required in relation to the individual topics will be provided during the lessons.
The oral exam aims to verify the acquisition of basic and advanced notions related to the management of innovative processes in maritime logistics. The exam also makes it possible to evaluate the skills and competences acquired by the student, through the application of theoretical notions and concepts to concrete managerial contexts, as well as the presentation of empirical evidence connected to appropriate case studies.
