Corporate boards, audit committees and voluntary disclosure: evidence from Italian Listed Companies

This paper investigates the interplay between governance and disclosure in an agency setting, featured by concentrated ownership and high insider shareholders representation in the board. In this context, agency conflicts happen between large controlling shareholders and minority outside investors, with risks of private benefits exploitation. We regressed a voluntary disclosure index on seven governance variables related either to the board structure and functioning. The empirical evidence is provided by the Italian stock market. Our results suggest the presence of a complementary relationship between governance and disclosure. Diligent monitoring activity is associated with greater transparency to the outside. The findings are consistent with the view that internal and external control tend to be present at the same time, since the presence of one of them reduces the incentive for the controlling shareholders to limit the other. The empirical evidence also show that larger boards are not detrimental to outside shareholders, with regard to voluntary disclosure. The study can contribute to the understanding of the relationship between governance and disclosure in a particular agency setting. They might be of interest to practitioners and regulators, insofar as they are consistent with calls for more disclosure requirements in this agency setting.     

The impact of related party transactions on earnings management: some insights from the Italian context

Related party transactions have become a key issue as a result of recent financial scandals. This study examines whether firms use related party transactions for earnings management, and then, whether they try to minimize detection through the format of related party transactions disclosure. Firstly, we analyze the association between related party transactions structure (types and parties involved) and the probability of reporting small earnings increase. Related party transactions may have significant impact on, and implications for, earnings management. According to the agency theory, related party transactions are used opportunistically, while the efficient transaction hypothesis argues that related party transactions meet the economic needs of the business. We next investigate the association between the probability of reporting small earnings increases through related party transactions and disclosure quality. Disclosure quality should be studied in relation to impression management and investor attention; this approach takes account of the idea that earnings management behavior may influence the quality of disclosure as a possible way of lowering conflict of interest. In line with the agency theory, our findings show that revenue related party transactions are more likely to be used to manage earnings than other types of transaction; related party transactions with ultimate parents are associated with lower probability of reporting small earnings increases compared to operations with other related parties. Lastly, our results confirm that the decision to engage in earnings management is related to lower disclosure quality.     

Investment Appraisal and Measures of Performance in Italian Divisionalised Companies

The aim of this study was to describe and analyse the current practice and trends in the development of management control practice as regards divisional investments in large Italian firms, using a survey questionnaire method. Some comparison with top North-American and German international manufacturing units were also made.The findings of the study supported two theoretical propositions. In the identification stage, firms tend to decentralise the process of capital budgeting and the control mechanism ensuring the link between corporate strategic objectives and capital expenditure projects at divisional level is based on guidelines produced by headquarters. In the selection stage firms which perceive a high interface level with the corporate strategic objectives in divisional capital expenditure tend to use discounted cash flow techniques when choosing one or more investment projects. When an economic approach is used to provide a comprehensive measure of performance, the theoretical framework fails to predict the relationship between corporate control and performance evaluation system in divisionalised companies. Essentially, financial control combines non-financial measures, used to understand manufacturing operations, with traditional accounting measures, used to understand the effects of manufacturing activities on the level of operating cash flow and operating income, as a comprehensive measures of performance in the medium-term of divisional investments.     

When Municipality is Partner in Business: A Mapping of Italian Experience

Municipal ownership of companies in Italy is a common phenomenon that underlines the attitude of local bodies towards the supply of particular local services, frequently with a correlation of public and private interests. This article addresses key features of the companies involved. The focus is on their location, legal status, spread of ownership, work, governance and economic performance, as a lead into more comprehensive future research on how municipal ownership can affect company performance and markets in different service areas and territories.     

Innovation development in biopharmaceutical start-up firms: An Italian case study

The aim of this paper is to analyze the business models and the strategic competences of the new Italian biopharmaceutical firms allowing them to successfully overcome the initial stages of starting up. A multiple case studies methodology was used. In particular, a thorough analysis of four Italian biopharmaceutical firms that have recently started up and shown significant innovative output was carried out. The results of this study revealed that the start-up success factors consist of competencies that are distinct and different depending on the type of business models founded: the excellence in quality, the ability to create and manage relationship networks, the technical and managerial capabilities are the strategical competences emerging from the case studies examined.     

Income Shifting in Italian Business Groups and some Governance Implications

This paper explores the relationship among group control, financial reporting strategies and governance implications in the pursuit of domestic tax planning. A very large number of papers deals with international tax planning in multidivisional enterprises, but very few are devoted to exploring significant incentives for national business groups to engage in tax planning strategies. In this paper we propose a one-period model relating to the tax incentives of income shifting in Italian business groups. We show that, given the total amount of expected earnings before taxes and the dividends received by the firms belonging to a business group, an optimal solution to the problem of minimizing the group tax burden exists. The optimal solution involves a gain in value for the group as a whole; nevertheless, since in business groups ownership is often differentiated among shareholders (often because of the separation between ownership and control), income shifting may determine wealth transfers, often in favor of the controlling shareholder. We therefore analyze the management and governance implications of such income shifting, for both shareholders and stakeholders (i.e. managers). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Innovation and export performance: a study of Italian high-tech SMEs

The objective of the paper is to examine the influence of innovation measures on the export intensity of Italian high technology small and medium firms. In fact, despite a growing number of empirical studies attempting to guide the approximation of the value of innovation and its relative impact on the export intensity, a distinction between innovation input and output indicators, both internal and external to the firms has not been clearly established. Drawing on the innovation and export management literature, we used a sample of Italian firms operating in the high tech settings within the manufacturing industry (HTSMEs). Applying a 3?years lag time approach, we ran various Tobit regression models. Our empirical results revealed that: (1) R&D employees do positively and significantly impact the export intensity of HTSMEs, whereas R&D expenditures do not; (2) the use of ??Universities?? as external R&D partners has a positive influence on the export intensity of HTSMEs; (3) ??Product innovations?? and the ??Turnover derived from innovative activities?? positively and significantly affect the export intensity of firms in our sample.     

经济周期、行业周期性与盈余管理程度——来自中国上市公司的经验证据

本文研究了企业在经济周期不同阶段盈余管理程度是否存在差异,以及周期性和非周期性行业企业盈余管理程度是否存在差异.本文通过检验我国A股上市公司在2000-2011年间经济周期收缩期和扩张期周期性与非周期性行业公司可操控性应计利润绝对值的差异,发现,周期性行业公司盈余管理程度总体上大于非周期性行业;盈余管理程度在经济收缩期大于扩张期,但这种差异主要是由周期性行业公司导致的:非周期性行业公司的盈余管理程度在经济收缩期与经济扩张期并无显著差异,而周期性行业公司的盈余管理程度在经济收缩期显著大于经济扩张期.本文的检验结果表明,在研究盈余管理时,应考虑控制周期性行业与非周期性行业之间,以及经济周期不同阶段的差别.     

IPO 募资双重管制与资源配置——基于自然实验的经验证据

本文探讨我国首发市场中针对募集资金的两种管制政策的交互效应对资源配置的影响.研究结果发现,募资用途和募资额度管制的交互作用会导致募资不足,从而加大公司上市后融资约束的程度,进而引起投资不足. 2009年放开募资额度管制后,公司的融资约束得到缓解,但持有过量的超募资金又会引发过度投资.进一步研究发现,企业持有的超募资金与其长期绩效呈倒U型关系.本文的研究结论对目前处于酝酿中的IPO注册制的相关政策制定和制度设计具有参考意义.     

海尔管理变革:市场链与业务流程再造

自90年代美国管理学家哈默和钱皮提出业务流程再造理论后,世界范围内掀起一场流程再造的革命,虽然理论界和企业界对其研究倾注了大量的人力和财力,但再造更多的还是停留在理论的研究上,还缺少有说服力的成功经验和模式,海尔在这方面实现了“由理论走向现实”的飞跃。同时,在中国即将加入WTO之际,如何提升我国大企业在国际市场中的竞争力,对于我国企业迎接WTO挑战和机遇具有重要意义。海尔1999年开始实施的市场链与业务流程再造模式在上述两个方面都有很好的说服力和代表性,本文是在笔者深入调查海尔管理创新系统的基础上,就海尔市场链与业务流程再造的经验进行的总结和实证研究。     

数字商业模式设计:企业数字化转型与商业模式创新案例研究

数字经济浪潮下,面对跨界颠覆者与技术融合的趋势,传统企业数字化转型迫在眉睫,尽管数字技术为企业开发和调整商业模式实现数字化转型提供机遇,但相关研究却对数字化转型的本质与数字情境中商业模式架构系统的变化缺乏深入关注.研究采用多案例研究,对案例企业的5种与数字化相关的商业模式进行分析,总结提炼出4种不同的数字商业模式类型,进而将数字商业模式解构为数字价值主张、数字价值创造与数字价值获取的架构系统,并详细阐释了数字商业模式的设计原理,最终围绕商业模式的双重属性识别出数字商业模式的创新来源.     

Corporate governance and IPO underpricing: evidence from the italian market

Journal of Management and Governance - This paper aims to analyse the impact of firms’ corporate governance characteristics on the degree of first-day returns (i.e., underpricing) in the...     

探索式创新、利用式创新与绩效:战略和环境的影响

本文基于397家中国企业的样本数据,对探索式创新、利用式创新与企业绩效之间的关系进行了实证研究,着重考察了探索式创新、利用式创新的内部匹配关系以及这两类创新行为与企业战略和环境的外部匹配关系。结果表明,两类创新行为分别对企业绩效有直接的正向影响,两类创新行为之间的内部匹配对绩效无显著影响,两类创新行为与企业战略和环境竞争性的外部匹配关系对绩效有显著影响。     

高科技企业知识型员工激励方式创新研究

本文分析了高科技企业中知识型员工的范围、特征和主要的激励因素,提出了知识型员工的激励策略,探讨了如何更新传统的待遇留人、事业留人和感情留人方式,发挥其在知识型员工激励策略中的作用.     

Short-term Perceptions,Corporate Governance and the Management of R & D in Italian Companies

The aim of this paper was tomeasure the short-term perceptions of FinanceDirectors and how managers react to pressuresfrom the financial and corporate governancesystems in the management of R and Dexpenditure and innovation. The studyreplicates Demirag's U.K. study.Results do not support the proposition that thefinancial and governance systems behave in ashort-term manner in general. The bankingsystem in Italy tends to be neutral as regardsthe firm's decision making and management hasthe freedom to steer the firm forward in aframework of long-term profitability andgrowth. Italian firms are not perceived asbeing possible candidates for take-overoperations, which might exacerbate the problemof pressure to deliver short-term profits atthe expense of long-term R and D investments.However, in some sectors and under certain sizeand ownership structure conditions short-termpressures are felt more strongly: they aremainly science-based sectors as well as sometraditional sectors (engineering and constructions).In higher-pressured firms (HPFs) managementtends to place more emphasis on costs than onproduct innovation and is more likely to view Rand D as an overhead that has to be trimmedduring a recession. Moreover, the controlmechanisms tend toward short-term accountingmeasures. In addition, the prevalent sources ofshort-term pressures – where they are present– are interestingly different in Italy than inthe U.K.: while in the Anglo-Saxon context theyare perceived to come from the market andfinancial institutions, in Italy they areperceived to come from the firm ownersthemselves.