Table 1 Case study profiles and data... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1

Case study profiles and data gathering

B2B company	Case study profile	In-depth interviews (March 2023-July 2024)	Company-specific secondary documents
Alpha	Alpha was founded in the late 1970s in central Italy to produce coagulated bases for subsequent use by coating synthetic products, initially exclusively in the footwear sector. The company has significantly diversified its product portfolio, introducing technical fabrics (besides more traditional textiles), and its reference industries, where fashion remains pivotal. Alpha currently creates new sustainable and innovative materials by transforming apple waste, whose first experiments began almost 15 years ago, and, recently, bamboo waste.	Two interviews with the CEO (March 2024 and July 2024 for a total of about 100 minutes)	Corporate website Corporate social media profiles (mainly LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook) Company reports Video interviews Video about the company Press articles and interviews released on websites (125 pages collected and stored)
Beta	Beta is a fashion startup that harnesses innovation and the use of natural resources to provide sustainable and fluorine-free textile solutions. The company was founded in 2020 in northern Italy by two young female entrepreneurs with a vision to combine research, experimentation, sustainability and support for the Italian territory. The fashion industry is a major target for Beta. The production of innovative materials leverages the utilization of marble and minerals powder by integrating products and by-products from other industries into circular economy processes.	Two interviews with the Co-Founder (March 2023 and March 2024 for a total of about 100 minutes)	Corporate website Corporate social media profiles (mainly LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook) Company reports Video interviews Video about the company Press articles and interviews released on websites (207 pages collected and stored)
Gamma	Gamma is an enterprise founded 60 years ago in a district in northern Italy renowned for footwear production. Gamma has consistently produced traditional textile materials, such as acrylic and coagulated fabrics. Around the early 2010s, relying on specialized technology, Gamma distinguished itself by producing a novel corn-based biomaterial. Also, this company realizes materials derived from rice husk recovery for its customers in the fashion realm.	Two interviews with the Sales Manager (April 2024 and June 2024 for a total of about 130 minutes)	Corporate website Corporate social media profiles (mainly LinkedIn and Instagram) Company reports Video interviews Video about the company Press articles and interviews released on websites (56 pages collected and stored)
Delta	Delta is a long-established family business run by the fifth generation. It was founded in northern Italy in the second half of the 1800s, in a territory with one of the oldest textile traditions in Europe. The company produces fabrics according to a fully verticalized production cycle that guarantees a 100% Italian product; indeed, Delta completely deals with the processes of raw material selection, dyeing, spinning, warping, weaving, finishing and quality control. Over the past few years, Delta has innovatively offered natural raw materials enriched with vegetable dyes, such as dyeing with recovered coffee grounds. This firm also develops sustainable materials using fibers from milk and seaweed.	Two interviews with the Sales Manager (January 2024 and June 2024 for a total of about 90 minutes)	Corporate website Corporate social media profiles (mainly LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook) Company reports Video interviews Video about the company Press articles and interviews released on websites (105 pages collected and stored)

B2B company	Case study profile	In-depth interviews(March 2023-July 2024)	Company-specific secondary documents
Alpha	Alpha was founded in the late 1970s in central Italy to produce coagulated bases for subsequent use by coating synthetic products, initially exclusively in the footwear sector. The company has significantly diversified its product portfolio, introducing technical fabrics (besides more traditional textiles), and its reference industries, where fashion remains pivotal. Alpha currently creates new sustainable and innovative materials by transforming apple waste, whose first experiments began almost 15 years ago, and, recently, bamboo waste.	Two interviews with the CEO(March 2024 and July 2024 for a total of about 100 minutes)	Corporate website Corporate social media profiles (mainly LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook) Company reports Video interviews Video about the company Press articles and interviews released on websites (125 pages collected and stored)
Beta	Beta is a fashion startup that harnesses innovation and the use of natural resources to provide sustainable and fluorine-free textile solutions. The company was founded in 2020 in northern Italy by two young female entrepreneurs with a vision to combine research, experimentation, sustainability and support for the Italian territory. The fashion industry is a major target for Beta. The production of innovative materials leverages the utilization of marble and minerals powder by integrating products and by-products from other industries into circular economy processes.	Two interviews with theCo-Founder(March 2023 and March 2024 for a total of about 100 minutes)	Corporate website Corporate social media profiles (mainly LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook) Company reports Video interviews Video about the company Press articles and interviews released on websites (207 pages collected and stored)
Gamma	Gamma is an enterprise founded 60 years ago in a district in northern Italy renowned for footwear production. Gamma has consistently produced traditional textile materials, such as acrylic and coagulated fabrics. Around the early 2010s, relying on specialized technology, Gamma distinguished itself by producing a novel corn-based biomaterial. Also, this company realizes materials derived from rice husk recovery for its customers in the fashion realm.	Two interviews with the Sales Manager(April 2024 and June 2024 for a total of about 130 minutes)	Corporate website Corporate social media profiles (mainly LinkedIn and Instagram) Company reports Video interviews Video about the company Press articles and interviews released on websites (56 pages collected and stored)
Delta	Delta is a long-established family business run by the fifth generation. It was founded in northern Italy in the second half of the 1800s, in a territory with one of the oldest textile traditions in Europe. The company produces fabrics according to a fully verticalized production cycle that guarantees a 100% Italian product; indeed, Delta completely deals with the processes of raw material selection, dyeing, spinning, warping, weaving, finishing and quality control. Over the past few years, Delta has innovatively offered natural raw materials enriched with vegetable dyes, such as dyeing with recovered coffee grounds. This firm also develops sustainable materials using fibers from milk and seaweed.	Two interviews with the Sales Manager(January 2024 and June 2024 for a total of about 90 minutes)	Corporate website Corporate social media profiles (mainly LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook) Company reports Video interviews Video about the company Press articles and interviews released on websites (105 pages collected and stored)

Source(s): Authors’ elaboration