Suchergebnisse

The present paper explores the state-of-the-art of the Italian administrative reform, which encourages all small municipalities to develop inter-local service agreements. By adopting an empirical approach, we survey 136 small municipalities. The survey results suggest a state of 'collaborative inertia'. Small municipalities have signed inter-local service agreements for just a few services that have a small impact on their organisations and citizens. In spite of the efforts by the Italian government, the results thus show that this administrative reform has not yet taken off.

Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: The structuration of the Italian welfare system: from fragmentation to innovation -- Chapter 3: A (possible) answer to fragmentation in social assistance policy. The Local Area Plan -- Chapter 4: Redesigning territorialisation to improve planning and management capabilities in social assistance. Change or business as usual -- Chapter 5: The difficult path towards change -- Chapter 6: The road towards the new planning phase (2021-2023). Challenges and opportunities.

Purpose
In recent years, the role of environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure has become crucial. The aim of this paper is to study how corporate governance affects one part of ESG disclosure: anti-corruption disclosure.


Design/methodology/approach
This study examined 140 corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports from companies listed on the Italian stock markets and 50 CSR reports from other companies, then this study analysed the adoption of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standard no. 205.


Findings
The results show a low level of disclosure, and that corporate governance issues matter. In particular, the analysis found a positive relationship between the presence of female and outside members, the number of board members and the level of anti-corruption disclosure.


Research limitations/implications
This study acknowledges some limitations. Firstly, the research is based on a one-year sample. Secondly, the research hypotheses are confirmed only when considered in relation to a single section of the GRI standards. Thirdly, this study has a bias towards relatively large enterprises.


Practical implications
It could be worthwhile introducing a soft regulation regarding the composition of the board of directors that requires a certain quantitative and qualitative composition.


Originality/value
To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is one of the few studies, the first in Italy, that sheds light on anti-corruption disclosure and its determinants.

PurposeThe aim of this paper is to examine a relevant innovation in terms of how corporate supervisory boards are structured for an effective measure of anti-corruption that concerns a new application of Italian Legislative Decree No. 231/2001 in compliance with the obligations set out by OECD Convention of 17 September 1997 on the fight against corruption.Design/methodology/approachThe research hypotheses which lead the study are based on an empirical analysis of 119 nursing homes with the aim of investigating the state-of-the art of this innovative application especially regarding the composition, effectiveness and functioning of the supervisory board in the unique case when this compliance system becomes compulsory.FindingsThe results show how, even though a certain level of uncertainty and ambiguity have led to great variance in the ways the compliance system is drafted, was possible to identify a positive relation between supervisory board composition and performance – that is the effectiveness of anti-corruption system – and a negative relation between board size and performance. Finally, the results suggest the relevance of supervisory board in fostering knowledge as mediating role.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors believes that future work using inter-temporal modelling could build upon and extend the insights presented here. A second area arises from those contrasts in board characteristics that are present across countries and/or across company's size, small- and medium-sized enterprises or multinational companies and/or across industrial sectors.Practical implicationsThe authors offers a more nuanced understanding of the linkages between corporate governance and anti-corruption. In particular, the paper suggests that for an effective anti-corruption strategy, larger supervisory board sizes are associated with weaker performance, and a greater external composition is preferable to an internal one.Originality/valueThe paper depicts a first and relevant step toward the identification of best practices of corporate governance as anti-corruption system, relating to an innovative and unique – to the date – application of a compliance system based on the supervisory board.