Corporate and managerial characteristics as drivers of social responsibility disclosure by state-owned enterprises

The public administration sector, including state owned enterprises (SOEs), has developed various types of information disclosure practice, in response to stakeholders’ demands, in parallel with developments in the private sector. This paper analyses the corporate social responsibility (CSR) information disclosed by SOEs and the influence exerted by the characteristics of the SOEs themselves (size, industry sector, degree of government ownership and number of years in operation) and by those of their managers (age, gender, CSR education profile and CSR responsibilities in the workplace). To do so, an index of CSR information disclosure was created, based on the responses made to a questionnaire in this respect. An empirical regression model was then applied to test and categorise the factors analysed. According to the results obtained, the size and sector of the SOE, together with the manager’s CSR responsibilities, are the factors that most significantly affect the online disclosure of CSR information.     

Business intelligence and analytics value creation in Industry 4.0: a multiple case study in manufacturing medium enterprises

Abstract

Medium enterprises (MEs) form a majority of enterprises in several regions, yet they are underrepresented in the literature. The digital transformation known as Industry 4.0 (I4.0) brings new data streams into enterprises. MEs and large enterprises will both leverage business intelligence and analytics (BI&A) to improve their business performance, so the study of the conditions favouring value creation of BI&A is of interest. However, there are few studies focusing on the impact of business intelligence and analytics (BI&A) on value creation in I4.0 and none focusing on MEs. Using a multiple case-study design, this paper explores factors linked to BI&A business value creation in manufacturing MEs that are undergoing an I4.0 transformation. Findings suggest enterprises resources and capabilities are not sufficient to predict business value: organizational learning and organizational culture have a non-negligible influence for MEs.     

Re-randomization tests as sensitivity analyses to confirm immunological noninferiority of an investigational vaccine: Case study

Here we present as case study how re-randomization tests were performed in two randomized, controlled clinical trials as sensitivity analyses, as recommended by the United States Food and Drug Administration in the context of adaptive randomization. This was done to confirm primary conclusions on immunological noninferiority of an investigational new fully liquid presentation of a quadrivalent cross-reacting material conjugate meningococcal vaccine (MenACWY-CRM), over its licensed lyophilized/liquid presentation. In two phase 2b studies (Study #1: NCT03652610; Study #2: NCT03433482), noninferiority of the fully liquid presentation of MenACWY-CRM to the licensed presentation was assessed and demonstrated for immune responses against meningococcal serogroup A (MenA), the only vaccine component modified from lyophilized to liquid in the new presentation. The original vaccine assignment algorithm, with a minimization procedure accounting for center or center within age strata, was used to re-randomize participants belonging to the fully liquid and licensed vaccine groups while keeping antibody responses, covariates and entry order as observed. Test statistics under re-randomization were generated according to the ANCOVA model used in the primary analysis. To confirm immunological noninferiority following re-randomization, the corresponding p-values had to be <0.025. For both studies and all primary objective evaluations, the re-randomization p-values were well below 0.025 (0.0004 for Study #1; 0.0001 for the two co-primary endpoints in Study #2). Re-randomization tests performed to comply with a regulatory request confirmed the primary conclusions of immunological noninferiority for the MenA of the fully liquid compared to the licensed vaccine presentation.     

Integrating strategic planning and performance management in universities: a multiple case-study analysis

Journal of Management and Governance - Over time, public universities have been involved in a process of modernisation based on a new concept of governance and managerial methods for increasing...     

Determinants of Foreign Workers’ Wages in Two Italian Regions with High Illegal Immigration

Since the end of the 1970s Italy has moved from being an out-migration country to being a foreign immigration country, but very few studies have addressed the factors determining the wages of immigrant workers, owing to the lack of available data. In this paper we analyse the determinants of the wages of immigrants in some areas of Latium and Campania, where the share of illegal immigration is relatively high, using the results of a set of sample surveys which collected information on several aspects of the immigration process in the years 1993–94. The purpose of the article is to shed some light on the factors underlying wage distribution among the immigrants using an estimation method that controls for sample selection problems. According to the empirical results, income differences seem to be relatively high among immigrants. Differences in labour market integration among sexes and area of origin clearly emerge from the results. Moreover, legal status plays an important role in the explanation of the wage gap between documented and undocumented immigrants, also because of the different occupational sector structure in the two groups.     

Let's stay close: An examination of the effects of imagined contact on behavior toward children with disability

In line with current developments in indirect intergroup contact literature, we conducted a field study using the imagined contact paradigm among high-status (Italian children) and low-status (children with foreign origins) group members (N = 122; 53 females, mean age = 7.52 years). The experiment aimed to improve attitudes and behavior toward a different low-status group, children with disability. To assess behavior, we focused on an objective measure that captures the physical distance between participants and a child with disability over the course of a five-minute interaction (i.e., while playing together). Results from a 3-week intervention revealed that in the case of high-status children imagined contact, relative to a no-intervention control condition, improved outgroup attitudes and behavior, and strengthened helping and contact intentions. These effects however did not emerge among low-status children. The results are discussed in the context of intergroup contact literature, with emphasis on the implications of imagined contact for educational settings.     

Measuring residential segregation in multi-ethnic and unequal European cities

Immigration flows and social inequalities reflect increased social and multi-ethnic segregation in contemporary urban Europe. For a better understanding of these processes, the present study investigates the main strengths of the multi-group residential indices, testing sensitivity and reliability under different metropolitan contexts in five European countries. These indices focus on different research dimensions and approach multi-group residential segregation conceptually and mathematically in a different way. A multivariate exploratory data analysis was adopted to classify the observed segregation patterns into a few homogeneous types and to delineate the multivariate relationship between the indices. The results of principal component analysis demonstrate that the indices assessing uniformity and disproportionality of the social groups analysed (H and D) contribute largely to the diversification in today's multi-ethnic communities, clarifying the importance of the dimension of evenness. Our results highlight how segregation is more evident in economically disadvantaged metropolitan regions with high levels of social vulnerability.     

The heterogeneous effects of COVID-19 on labor market flows: evidence from administrative data

The Journal of Economic Inequality - We investigate the short-term effects of COVID-19 on labor market flows and how they are mediated by labor market policy. Using Italian administrative data on a...     

Local Labour Markets Identification: a United Point of View*

Abstract. In this paper a unifying point of view is discussed of the methodologies and algorithms actually proposed for the identification of local labour market. The emphasis is on the main contributions to two broad methodological areas of functional regionalization and homogeneous spatial clustering. Most Italian contributions are considered in detail and some critical notes are pointed out in order to show that the methodological background is just the same for both approaches. The interpretations of the outputs of the proposed methodologies is discussed in terms of local labour markets.     

Gender balance in the workforce and abortion attitudes: A cross-national time-series analysis

This article explores the relationship between gender balance in the workforce and attitudes towards abortion worldwide. Studies on macro-level conditions related to abortion attitudes overlook the role of gender balance in the workforce—specifically the degree of female representation in a country's workforce. There are strong reasons why this factor could shape abortion attitudes. We argue that such a gender balance creates necessary conditions to break with traditional, anti-abortion ideology and facilitates dissemination and public acceptance of pro-choice views. We test this argument with two different datasets - the Integrated Values Survey and three waves of the International Social Survey Programme—along with two outcomes: general tolerance towards abortion and tolerance towards abortion for pregnant women of low income. Using three-level random intercept models and multiple controls for individual and country-level conditions, the results support our hypothesis: In countries with higher gender balance in the workforce, individuals display higher tolerance towards abortion.