Bio
Andrea Piccaluga, professor of Innovation Management at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, has been Director of the Institute of Management (IoM), where he is founder of the research group in Regenerative Innovation. He is delegate for internationalization at Netval, the Italian network of University Technology Transfer Offices, after being president from 2014 to 2019 and vice-president from 2020 to 2022. He holds a PhD from Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna and a Master in Technology and Innovation Management from SPRU (University of Sussex, Brighton). He is Associate editor of the R&D Management Journal and Head of the International R&D Management Conference. He collaborates with large and medium-sized companies (Knauf, Loccioni, Venture Factory, Enel, Edra, BB, Gruppo Lupi, etc.) in the field of Open Innovation, with JRC, the Italian Patent Office and the European Patent Office in the field of policies for entrepreneurship and technology transfer. He also collaborates with Caritas Italiana in the field of the impact of purpose-based organizations. He is member of the board of Fondazione Casa Cardinale Maffi and of the Italian Management Society (SIMA). He is coordinator of the Sant'Anna research group within the National Biodiversity Future Centre. He has published books and papers in the field of R&D management and technology transfer. He has recently written "La Buona Impresa" (Edizioni Sole 24Ore), together with Valentina Cucino and Alberto Di Minin, “Sorella Economia” (Edizioni Porziuncola), together with Marco Asselle and has co-edited “Il gioco degli opposti” (Egea). He has been part of two EC Expert Groups which have published two report: “Knowledge Transfer Metrics. Towards a European-wide set of harmonised indicators” and “Knowledge Transfer Metrics - Exploration of composite indicators for knowledge transfer”. In 2019 he co-edited a Special Issue of the Journal of Technology Transfer on "Italian Universities and Technology Transfer: A Reevaluation” and in 2020 a Special Issue of the R&D Management Journal on "Providing solutions in emergencies: R&D and innovation management during Covid-19”. Together with Gianluca Gionfriddo and Marco Asselle he is the founder of the Sorella Economia network (www.sorellaeconomia.it). Together with Rosangela Feola he founded the thematic group on "Purpose-driven businesses" with the Italian Management Society. Together with his colleagues from the Institute of Management he will organize the 2025 R&D Management Conference on Innovation and Biodiversity (June 30-July 1 and 2) (https://rnd2025.org/).
Research
Andrea Piccaluga is currently active in the following research fields, within the broad area of Regenerative Innovation:
- Open Innovation and R&D Management. In this research field the focus is about how firms of different sizes manage their innovation processes through R&D activities and open innovation tools. This includes technology management and university-industry collaborations.
- The valorisation of research results from public research. This is perhaps the most consolidated field of research and it regards how universities and other Public Research Organisations, including research hospitals, manage their research results in order to generate impact on society. Emphasis is given to the role of university technology transfer offices, IP management, third mission activities, etc. This area includes collaborations with www.netval.it for the annual report on technology transfer and with UIBM and Invitalia for analyses of Proof-of-concept programs.
- High-tech entrepreneurship and university spin-off companies. In this research area the object of study is represented by new start-up companies, especially high-tech ones, their success factors and the motivations of academic entrepreneurs.
- Purpose-based organisations and social impact. The focus of this research area is about firms which have chosen to be purpose-based and to interpret capitalism in a new, more people-centred and socially oriented way. This research area is also influenced by the contribution of the franciscan tradition in the field of economics and by integral ecology, the new paradigm about integral ecology proposed by Pope Francis, etc. This area also includes new ways of describing/measuring the impact of purpose-based firms and non-profit organisations and the role played by innovative start-ups aiming at solving societal problems.
- Biodiversity and business. This last research area has been recently strengthened thanks to the participation to the National Biodiversity Future Centre and regards, in collaboration with colleagues from the Sustainability Management area, the many connections between business activities and biodiversity.
Publications
Courses
Seasonal schools organized/taught at Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna
- Management of Innovation and Common Good
- Biodiversity and business. From research to impact
Courses taught at Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna:
- Open Innovation and R&D Management (Laurea Magistrale in Innovation Management, in collabioration with University of Trento)
- Innovative Entrepreneurship (for Sant'Anna undergrads)
- High-tech Entrepreneurship (for Sant'Anna undergrads and PhD students)
- Management of Innovation and common good (for Sant'Anna undergrads)
Other lectures and short courses:
- Management of spin-off companies (Master KEI – Università di Bologna and Netval)
- Impact and Third mission of universities (Crui, Netval, Codau, various universities)
- Open Innovation and entrepreneurship (Master Scalability, Università di Pisa and Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna)
- Management of Innovation and common good (Istituto Universitario Sophia, Università di Camerino, etc.)