120 research outputs found
A Contingency Model of Boards of Directors and Firm Innovation: The Moderating Role of Firm Size
No full textThis study asserts that the effects of board characteristics on firm innovation need to be evaluated with reference to contingency variables. A literature review suggests that relatively few studies adopt a contingency view when examining the outcomes of boards
of directors. This study examines the influence on firm innovation of characteristics such as board size, outsider ratio and board diversity, and suggests that their influence is contingent upon firm size. The model is tested on a sample of Italian companies and finds support for the contingency hypothesis. This study advances research on boards of directors by emphasizing the importance of context
Boards of directors and firm innovation: a contingency perspective on board effectiveness
No full textThe article explores the effects of the boards of directors construct on firm innovation from the theoretical perspective of decision making groups. It examines how the board of directors, which functions as a decision making group, influences a firm's conduct. The contingency view on boards and innovation is applied, with an argument about how a contingency perspective may help clarify the effects of board features on organizational outcome. The situational efficacy of board characteristics in different organizational settings is addressed. Understanding of the effects of board characteristics and of the context-dependent nature of corporate governance are also considered
Making Boards Effective: An Empirical Examination of Board Task Performance
No full textDespite the increasing attention of management scholars to boards of directors, there is still scant evidence on the antecedents of board task performance. The lack of
significant results seems to be due to some theoretical and methodological choices followed by scholars, i.e. the almost exclusive reliance on agency theory and the use of
demographic data. Following the call for dismantling the fortresses dominating past studies, this paper contributes to opening the ‘black box’ of boards of directors, developing a conceptual model that considers the impact of board members’ diversity, commitment and critical debate on board task effectiveness in performing its service and control tasks. We collected primary data through a questionnaire survey, and we tested the model controlling for board, firm and industry characteristics. Our findings suggest that (i) the predictors we identified, and particularly the board members’ commitment,
are far more important than board demographics to predict board task performance; (ii) firm and industry contexts exert a significant influence on board task performance; (iii) predictors have a different impact on specific sets of tasks. Thus, our findings support the idea that several board characteristics and contingencies at both industry and firm level must be acknowledged in board design
Boards Activity in Large Italian Companies. A Behavioural Perspective
No full textIn this article we present behavioural antecedents of board activity. We define board activity as the involvement of the board in various tasks such as control, advice, network and strategy. We adopt a behavioural perspective and hypothesize that three board attributes, i.e., board diversity, the commitment of the board members, and cognitive conflict among the board members, positively impact on the level of board activity. Our model was tested on a sample of 301 large manufacturing Italian corporations. The results support that commitment and diversity positively impact on the level of board activity; on the other hand, we did not find in the overall analysis that cognitive conflict significantly influenced board activity. However, further investigation showed that cognitive conflict may exert significant influence on some of the specific tasks of the board. Our findings suggest that behavioural attributes may shed light on what determines board activities; moreover, they suggest that future study should pay more attention to the specific tasks of the board
Boards of Directors and Firm Innovation: an Empirical Analysis on Large Italian Companies
No full textIn this article we analyse how board characteristics influence firm innovation. Firm innovation refers to basic innovation and entrepreneurial activities internal to a firm, such as the firm emphasis on new product development, innovation technology, and RandD investments. Drawing on agency theory, we developed hypotheses on specific board structural characteristics - i.e., board size, outsider ratio, directors’ shareholdings, and CEO duality - and firm innovation. We tested our model on a sample of 301 large manufacturing Italian companies. We find support for our argument that – contrary to predictions of agency theory on CEO ownership - directors’ shareholdings negatively influence firm propensity to innovate. Our results also suggest that board size may play a role in shaping firm propensity toward innovation
L'impatto delle condizioni interne ed esterne sul ruolo del Cda: un'analisi empirica sulle grandi imprese italiane
No full textNegli ultimi decenni, in particolare a partire dagli anni Ottanta, l'evoluzione dell'attività d'impresa e del suo ruolo sociale ha originato una rilevante crescita dimensionale sfociata nell'affermazione della grande impresa e nel conseguente frazionamento della proprietà; ne è derivato un notevole incremento del numero degli stakeholder interessati a vario titolo agli andamenti gestionali. A quanto sinteticamente esposto, è corrisposta un'apprezzabile intensificazione del dibattito sulla corporate governance. L'accelerazione del processo di globalizzazione unita al manifestarsi di scandali finanziari che hanno colpito importanti imprese internazionali (Enron, Worldcom) e domestiche (Cirio, Parmalat) ha ulteriormente accentuato la tendenza all'allargamento dei confini qualitativi e quantitativi del governo d'impresa e ne è scaturita una significativa proliferazione di ricerche nazionali e internazionali sul tema. Ora più che mai, lo studio delle problematiche di corporate governance sta attraversando un periodo di fulgore assoluto e di estremo interesse in campo economico-aziendale, per effetto dell'esplosione della crisi finanziaria che ha interessato grandi imprese del sistema globalizzato. Questo volume raccoglie una serie di contributi che si riferiscono principalmente all'esperienza italiana ma in alcuni casi contengono un'analisi comparativa effettuata in riferimento al contesto internazionale; in altri, gli argomenti trattati presentano connessioni implicite e collegamenti espliciti al medesimo scenario. Il lavoro di ricerca dei partecipanti al Gruppo di Studio e Attenzione Aidea si è indirizzato verso aspetti di grande attualità con l'obiettivo di suscitare nuovi spunti di riflessione nel complesso e affascinante studio delle tematiche tradizionali e innovative riconducibili al governo d'impresa
State of health of populations residing in geothermal areas of Tuscany
No full textOBJECTIVE The limited scientific knowledge on relationship between exposure and health effects in relation to geothermal activity motivated an epidemiologic investigation in Tuscan geothermal area. The study aims to describe the health status of populations living in Tuscany municipalities where concessions for exploitation of geothermal resources were granted. DESIGN This is an ecological study, so it is not useful to produce evidence to sustain a judgment on the cause-effect link. The major limits of this type of study are the use of the residence at municipal level as a proxy of exposure to both environmental and socioeconomic factors and the use of aggregated data of health outcomes that can lead to the well-known ecological fallacy. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS Sixteen municipalities were included in the study area: eight are part of the so-called “traditional” geothermal area, defined as Northern Geothermal Area (NGA) and eight located in the Amiata Mountain defined as Southern Geothermal Area (SGA). In 2000-2006, the average resident population in the overall area was approximately 43,000 inhabitants. Thirty one geothermal power plants were active, with a production capacity of 811 MW, 5 of them with 88 MW located in the SGA. Statistical analyses on the entire geothermal area, NGA and SGA subareas, and the sixteen municipalities were performed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES MORTALITY DATA were obtained from Tuscany Regional Mortality Registry for the 1971-2006 period, analysing 60 causes of death, of interest for population health status or consistent with “Project SENTIERI” criteria. HOSPITAL DISCHARGE RECORDS of residents in Tuscany Region in 2004-2006, anywhere admitted to hospital, were analyzed considering only the main diagnosis, excluding repeated admissions for the same cause. The causes taken into account are the same analysed for mortality were considered. Age-standardized mortality rates (TSDM) and the temporal trends of TSDM for four periods (1971-1979, 1980- 1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2006) were computed. Age-standardized mortality/hospitalization ratios (SMR/SHR), with and without adjustment for the deprivation index based on 2001 census data, were calculated: mortality in the years 2000-2006 and hospitalization in 2004-2006. The expected number of events were computed using rates of residents in neighbouring municipalities (municipalities included in 50 km radius circle centred on the study area). Bayesian estimates of mortality/hospitalization ratios (BMR/BHR) at municipal level only and relating maps of the Bayesian risk estimators were elaborated. CONGENITAL MALFORMATIONS (MC) were analysed using data from Tuscan Registry of Birth Defect in 1992-2006 period, relative to outcomes of pregnancies in women resident in the municipalities of study area, wherever the birth or termination of pregnancy occurred. The ratio between observed and expected cases (O/A), with expected defined according to regional rate, were calculated and O/A Bayesian estimates (BMR) are showed only at municipal level . The low weight and the males/females ratio at birth were analysed using data from Tuscany Birth Certificates, covering period 2001-2007, excluding biths occurred in facilities outside Tuscany Region. For Low birth weight ( 64 years). Among females resident in SGA a mortality excess from digestive system diseases was observed (72 observed, 55 expected). The hospitalization in the overall Geothermal Area did not show any excess for all causes and all tumours in both genders. Statistically significant excesses for hospital admission from stomach cancer among males (49 observed, 38 expected) and females (42 observed, 28 expected), and from lymphohematopoietic tumours among females, particularly from lymphatic leukaemia (15 observed, 5 expected), were observed. As mortality analysis highlighted, also hospital admissions by geothermal areas and gender showed a worst picture in SGA than in NGA. In the latter, a significant excess of hospital admissions from all causes among females (1,357 observed, 1,284 expected) but not among males (1,193 observed, 1,141 expected) and an excess - close to statistical significance - from all tumours only among females (297 observed; 272 expected) were observed. Furthermore, statistically significant excesses of hospital admissions from digestive system diseases in both genders (M: 392 observed, 350 expected; F: 300 observed, 268 expected), from dementias (16 observed, 8 expected) and from lymphhematopoietic cancers among females, particularly from lymphatic leukaemia (9 observed, 2 expected), were observed. In the SGA, statistically significant excesses of hospital admissions for stomach cancer (M: 32 observed, 21 expected, not significant after adjusting by DI; F: 29 observed, 18 expected), for respiratory diseases (M: 408 observed, 351 expected; F: 339 observed, 277 expected) and for renal failure (M: 61 observed, 41 expected; F: 52 observed, 34 expected) were observed in both genders. Among males, statistically significant excesses of hospital admissions for liver cancer (23 observed, 14 expected), Parkinson’s disease (10 observed, 4 expected) and genitourinary diseases (312 observed, 282 expected) emerged; among females statistically significant excesses of hospital admissions for oesophagus cancer (4 observed, 1 expected), for circulatory disorders of the brain (235 observed, 209 expected), for chronic-obstructive pulmonary disease (70 observed, 42 expected), and an excess close to the statistical significance for cancer of the central nervous system (22 observed, 14 expected) was observed. Congenital malformations results, which take into account births and pregnancy interruption after prenatal anomaly diagnosis show a statistically significant excess of urogenital anomalies in the SGA. Analysis of low birth weight, preterm birth and ratio O/A in males, showed no deviations from the regional references. CONCLUSIONS Overall this descriptive epidemiological study showed that the health status picture of Geothermal Area is not dissimilar from the one observed in neighbouring communities, with the exception of a worst general mortality among males. However, some mortality and hospitalization excesses are worth of note, most evident in the geothermal area of Amiata (SGA) compared to that of the province of Pisa (NGA). The overall results, showing more critical traits for males and a substantial non alignment of mortality and hospitalization, are suggestive of an etiological role of occupational exposures or individual lifestyles, even if effects of environmental factors cannot be excluded. Among the causes of death and hospitalization which showed excesses, acute respiratory diseases, with mortality excess among females in the SGA, circulatory disorders of the brain, with mortality excess among females in the NGA, respiratory system diseases and renal failure, with hospitalization excess in the SGA in both genders, are proposed for further insights. In fact, these excesses observed in areas characterized by documented presence of pollutants of different sources and great concern of the local communities, reinforced the indications for improving environmental quality and environment and health monitoring. Recommendations to the regional and local authorities for ad hoc epidemiological investigations and public health interventions were released
Intraoperative predictors of in-hospital mortality after open repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms
No full textBackground: Several models and scores have been released to predict early mortality in patients undergoing surgery for a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA). These scores included above all preoperative factors and they could be useful to deny surgical repair. The aim of the study was to evaluate intraoperative predictors of in-hospital mortality in patients undergoing open surgical repair (OSR) for a rAAA. Methods: Between January 2007 and December 2020, 265 patients were admitted at our tertiary referral hospital for a rAAA. Two-hundred-twenty-two patients underwent OSR. Intra-operative factors were analyzed by means of univariate analysis (step 1). Associations of procedure variables with in-hospital mortality rates were sought based on a multivariate Cox regression analysis (step 2). Results: Overall, in-hospital mortality rate was 28.8% (64 cases). Multivariate Cox regression analysis reported that operation time >240 minutes (P=0.032, OR 2.155, CI 95% 1.068-4.349), and hemoperitoneum (P<0.001, OR 3.582, CI 95% 1.749-7.335) were negative predictive factors for in-hospital mortality. Patency of at least one hypogastric artery (P=0.010; OR 0.128, CI 95% 0.271-0.609), and infrarenal clamping (P=0.001; OR 0.157, CI 95% 0.052-0.483) had a protective role in reducing in-hospital mortality rate. Conclusions: Operation time >240 minutes, and hemoperitoneum affected in-hospital mortality in patients undergoing OSR for rAAA. Patency of at least one hypogastric artery, and infrarenal clamping had a protective role. Further studies are needed to validate these outcomes. A validated predictive model could be useful to help the physicians in communication with patients' relatives. (Cite this article as: Troisi N, Bertagna G, Saratzis A, Guadagni S, Minichilli F, Adami D, et al. Intraopera-tive predictors of in-hospital mortality after open repair of ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms. Int Angiol 2023;42:310-7. DOI: 10.23736/S0392-9590.23.04941-6
Family involvement in governance and firm performance in industrial districts. The moderating role of the industry’s technological paradigm
No full textStudies on industrial districts tend to highlight the advantages for companies arising from the network of relationships among actors based on the sharing of a common history, culture and norms of behaviour. It has been recently shown that family businesses succeed in leveraging on the district effect only under certain size conditions. In this work, we further advance the study of the ‘district’ effect on family businesses with the analysis of further key contingencies in addition to size, namely the actual level of family involvement and the technological sector. It has been recently shown that family businesses succeed in leveraging on the district effect only under certain size conditions: for example, according to Cucculelli and Storai’s (2015) results, medium-sized family businesses companies enjoy the advantages of operating in a district more than larger and smaller companies and than non-family businesses of similar size. In this work, we further advance the study of the ‘district’ effect on family businesses with the analysis of further key contingencies in addition to size, namely the actual level of family involvement and the technological sector. We argue that an intense involvement of family members in the governance of companies operating within districts, negatively impacts on companies’ performance due to the emergence of a phenomenon of overembeddedness. Further, we also show an industry technological paradigm, characterized by radical breakthroughs, combines with family involvement and location in a district to negatively influence a company’s performance. The study is conducted on the Bocconi Italian Observatory of Family Business and includes a final usable panel of 55,489 company/year observations
Alone or together? The impact of socioemotional wealth and vulnerabilities On family firms’ subsidiary ownership choices
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