Imperial College London

DrElenaDalpiaz

Business School

Associate Professor of Strategy
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 1969e.dalpiaz

 
 
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Location

 

Business School BuildingSouth Kensington Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Publication Type
Year
to

15 results found

Bacco F, Dalpiaz E, 2022, The perfume of traditions: entrepreneurship and the resurrection of extinct societal traditions, Advances in Cultural Entrepreneurship, Publisher: Emerald, Pages: 113-136, ISBN: 978-1-80262-208-9

Management research has begun to explore how cultural entrepreneurs use established or decliningsocietal traditions to create distinctive new ventures and products. In this study, we propose analternative pathway for creating entrepreneurial opportunities, i.e., through leveraging extinctsocietal traditions. Extinct traditions yield opportunities to create highly distinctive products andventures, yet their use entails substantial challenges. To understand how entrepreneurs cansuccessfully leverage extinct traditions, we investigate the case of The Merchant of Venice, anItalian venture founded in 2012 that produces luxury perfumes based on the perfume-makingtradition that flourished in Venice between the 16th and 18th centuries and disappearedafterwards. Our study illuminates how cultural entrepreneurs can leverage extinct societaltraditions by a) exhuming lost knowledge and practices, b) validating them as an authentic andappreciable tradition of a given community and territory, and c) elevating their meaningfulness ascore to place identity. Our study contributes to the literature on cultural entrepreneurship andtraditions by revealing the distinct challenges that resurrecting extinct traditions entail, enrichingthe understanding of types, goals, and processes of cultural entrepreneurship, and widening currentknowledge of the roles of tradition custodians.

Book chapter

Cavotta V, Dalpiaz E, 2022, Good apples in spoiled barrels: A temporal model of firms’ formalization in fields characterized by widespread informality, Journal of Business Venturing, Vol: 37, ISSN: 0883-9026

Entrepreneurship scholars have devoted increasing attention to formalization (i.e., a firm's transition from informality to compliance with formal institutions). However, little is known about the actual process through which informal firms transition to pursue opportunities in a fully legally compliant way. This transition poses formidable challenges, especially in fields in which informality rather than formality is widespread. To understand how firms transition to full formality and manage the related institutional challenges in such contexts, we conduct a longitudinal, inductive case study of an informal firm, confiscated from the Mafia in Italy, and examine how it succeeded in operating formally in a field in which informality regulated transactions and was accepted across society. The findings suggest that formalizing in such contexts is a two-phase process that entails first extricating the enterprise from the influence of informal institutions and then cultivating formal institutions in the field to increase the firm's legitimacy. The study contributes to the literature on formalization, entrepreneurship, and institutional work by advancing the understanding of formalization as a dynamic and entrepreneurial endeavor that requires specific institutional work at different points in time to succeed.

Journal article

Dalpiaz E, Bacco F, 2022, The Perfume of Traditions: Entrepreneurship and the Resurrection of Extinct Societal Traditions, Research in the Sociology of Organizations, Vol: 80, Pages: 113-136, ISSN: 0733-558X

Journal article

Dalpiaz E, Cavotta V, 2018, A double-edged sword: cultural entrepreneurship and the mobilization of morally tainted cultural resources, Innovation: Organization & Management, Vol: 21, Pages: 214-228, ISSN: 1447-9338

We aim to highlight a type of cultural entrepreneurship, which has received scant attention by prior scholarship, and consists of deploying morally tainted cultural resources, i.e., resources that some audiences assess as going against accepted principles of morality. We argue that this type of cultural entrepreneurship is a double-edged sword and explain how it may ignite active opposition of offended audiences, as well as attract supportive audiences. We delineate a research agenda to shed light on whether, how, and with what consequences cultural entrepreneurs navigate such a tension – in particular how they (1) mobilise morally tainted cultural resources and with what effect on offended audiences; (2) deal with the consequent legitimacy challenges; and (3) transform moral taint into ‘coolness’ to enhance their venture’s distinctiveness.

Journal article

Tracey P, Dalpiaz E, Phillips N, 2018, Fish out of water: translation, legitimation, and new venture creation, Academy of Management Journal, Vol: 61, Pages: 1627-1666, ISSN: 0001-4273

We draw on institutional theory to study a common type of new venture creation that has been neglected in the literature: the translation of an existing organizational form from a different—and misaligned—institutional context. To do so, we conducted an in-depth case study of H-Farm, an Italian venture that was founded as a business incubator, a type of organization that first emerged in Silicon Valley and other U.S. technology regions. Our study illuminates the specific configuration of legitimacy pressures inherent in this type of entrepreneurship, and theorizes the strategies that entrepreneurs can enact to address them: local authentication work, category authentication work, and dual optimal distinctiveness work. We also show that the legitimacy pressures experienced by entrepreneurs may vary significantly as ventures mature, and challenge the notion of a specific “legitimacy threshold” that new ventures are required to reach. Finally, our model conceptualizes translation as an iterative, dynamic, and ongoing accomplishment rather than a “one off” activity with clear beginning and end points.

Journal article

Dalpiaz E, Di Stefano G, 2018, A universe of stories: mobilizing narrative practices during transformative change, Strategic Management Journal, Vol: 39, Pages: 664-696, ISSN: 0143-2095

Research Summary: Constructing narratives of transformative change is an important but challenging practice through which strategy-makers attempt to influence acceptance of an ongoing transformation. To understand whether and how strategy-makers can construct a steady influx of captivating narratives of transformative change, we analyzed how one noted strategy-maker assisted the successful transformation of his organization over three decades by orchestrating the production of change narratives. Our analysis reveals that the strategy-maker constructed and reconstructed meanings of change over time using three sets of distinct but interconnected narrative practices. We develop a dynamic model linking the simultaneous mobilization of these practices to strategy-makers’ ability to harness the persistent tension between novelty and familiarity in a transformative change, and thereby, win endorsement from key audiences.Managerial Summary: How can storytelling be used to influence acceptance of an ongoing organizational transformation? In this article, we try to answer this question by examining how, over three decades, Italian company Alessi documented its transformation from a manufacturer of kitchen steel utensils to a producer of a variety of household objects purchased also for their symbolic value. The leader behind Alessi's transformation, Alberto Alessi, orchestrated such storytelling effort, targeting employees, customers, retailers, and visitors to Alessi exhibitions. Our findings uncover how stories can be used to win audiences’ endorsement of change through narrative practices aimed at: (a) constructing a collective memory of change, (b) depicting change as a novel but coherent departure from the past, and (c) portraying change as a transcendent endeavor.

Journal article

Ravasi D, Rindova V, Dalpiaz E, 2017, Analyzing changes in organizational cultural repertoires, The Routledge Companion to Qualitative Research in Organization Studies, Publisher: Routledge

Book chapter

Dalpiaz E, Rindova V, Ravasi D, 2016, Combining logics to transform organizational agency: blending industry and art at Alessi, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol: 61, Pages: 347-392, ISSN: 1930-3815

To understand how organizations combine conflicting institutional logics strategically to create and pursue new market opportunities, we conducted an in-depth longitudinal study of the multiple efforts of the Italian manufacturer of household goods Alessi to combine the logics of industrial manufacturing and cultural production. Over three decades, Alessi developed three different strategies to combine normative elements of the two logics, using each strategy to envision and pursue different market opportunities. By combining the logics of industrial manufacturing and cultural production, Alessi was able to envision new possibilities for value creation and to enact them through innovation in product design. The three strategies triggered a common set of mechanisms through which the purposeful combining of logics enabled the pursuit of opportunity, while each strategy structured the process differently. We develop a theoretical model linking the development of recombinant strategies to the dynamic restructuring of organizational agency and the related capacity to create and pursue new market opportunities. Our findings and theoretical insights advance understanding of the processes through which organizations challenge taken-for-granted beliefs and practices to create new market opportunities, use logics as resources to enable embedded agency, and design hybrid organizational arrangements.

Journal article

Dalpiaz, Tracey, Phillips, 2014, Succession narratives in family business: The case of Alessi, Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice, Vol: 38, Pages: 1375-1394, ISSN: 1042-2587

One of the most significant challenges facing family firms is how to successfully manage succession from one generation of leaders to the next. In this paper, we contribute to existing understandings of this complex and difficult process by exploring how successors use family business succession narratives to legitimate their succession. Building on a case study of Alessi, a family–owned Italian design firm, we draw on the literature on organizational narratives to develop a framework for understanding family business succession narratives and present a typology of some of the narrative strategies that can be used during succession. We conclude with a discussion of the theoretical and practical ramifications of a narrative view of succession in family firms.

Journal article

Ravasi D, Rindova V, Dalpiaz E, 2012, The cultural side of value creation, Strategic Organization, Vol: 10, Pages: 231-239

Journal article

Rindova V, Dalpiaz E, Ravasi D, 2011, A cultural quest: A study of organizatioal use of new cultural resources in strategy formation, Organization Science, Vol: 22, Pages: 413-431

Journal article

Rindova V, Reger R, Dalpiaz E, 2010, The mind of the strategist and the eye of the beholder: The socio-cognitive perspective in strategy research, Editors: Dagnino, Publisher: Edware Elgare

Book chapter

Dalpiaz E, Rindova V, Ravasi D, 2010, Where strategy meets culture: The neglected role of cultural and symbolic resources in strategy research, Advances in Strategic Management, Vol: 27, Pages: 175-208

Journal article

Dalpiaz E, Ravasi D, 2010, News media and corporate reputation in Italy: An exploratory study, Corporate Reputation and the News Media. Agenda-Setting within the Business News Coverage in Developed, Emerging, and Frontier Countries, Editors: Carroll, Publisher: Routledge, Pages: 105-128

Book chapter

Dalpiaz E, Picarretta R, 2006, Reputazione e attrattività del sistema paese: L’Italia attraverso l’analisi della stampa anglosassone [Reputation and country attractiveness: Italy through the analysis of Anglo-Saxon media], L’attrattività del Sistema Paese. Territori, Settori, Imprese [Country Attractiveness: Regions, Industries, Firms], Editors: Dubini, Milan, Publisher: Il Sole 24 Ore

Book chapter

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