The aim of this paper is to examine whether and how some structural characteristics of the Italian Network contract (NC) influence small firms' performance. Since the '70s Italy has had a long history of network alliances characterized by the establishment of the industrial districts. However, this type of informal agreements have proved to be inadequate to counter the effects of globalization and of the changes that have occured in the international economic scenario. Consequently, the legislator has enacted the law n. 33/2009 by introducing a new type of formal agreement, named NC, in order to increase firms' competitiveness. Research findings on the Italian NC have shown the existence of positive effects on firms' performance. However, in most cases the analyses have been based on a limited number of firms and have not verified the influence of some network structural characteristics. This research wishes to fill this gap by increasing the existing literature on the subject. The empirical analysis, based on a firm level panel data, highlights that in networks composed of small firms the results are not always consistent with prior studies. Network characteristics differently influence the firms' performance measures. The analysis shows that network diversity and network's geographical openness are negatively related to firms' performance. Instead, network size has a limited impact on firms' performance expressed only by the ROA.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how information technology (IT) governance supports the process of enterprise risk management (ERM). In particular, the paper illustrates how the Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT) framework helps a company reach its objectives by integrating and supporting the Enterprise Risk Management by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO ERM) framework.
Design/methodology/approach – This paper explains how the integration between the two frameworks (COSO ERM and COBIT 5) can represent, for any organization, a good way to achieve the objectives of internal control and risk management and, more generally, corporate governance.
Findings – The paper identifies some gaps in the COSO ERM and illustrates how the COBIT framework facilitates the implementation of an adequate system of internal control.
Originality/value – The originality of the work presented here is in analyzing the COBIT 5 together with the COSO ERM framework. This paper highlights that is not enough to apply only an internal control framework for achieving the risk management and internal control system objectives. An IT governance framework, such as COBIT 5 is proposed as a tool that support risk management in order to develop an adequate system of internal control.
AbstractIntegrated reporting is the latest novelty in the corporate reporting field. It is a tool capable of better representing the capacity of companies to create value over time. In recent years, attention to this new reporting tool has grown in both professional and academic fields. However, despite past research that has analysed many aspects of integrated reporting, the integrated reporting quality and its determinants are still little explored. This study aims to fill this gap by analysing the effect of board characteristics on integrated reporting quality according to an agency theory approach. The findings, based on a sample of 134 international firms, show a positive relationship between the size, independence, diversity, and activity of a board with integrated reporting quality. This study contributes to enriching literature in this area in various ways. First, it broadens the scope of application of agency theory; second, it identifies further internal determinants of integrated reporting quality. This is the first study that analyses the impact of the characteristics of a board as a determining factor of integrated reporting quality.
AbstractThe diffusion of integrated reporting has encouraged academics to pay greater attention to this topic. Several studies have been conducted since the 2011 of the Discussion Paper "Towards Integrated Reporting: Communicating Value in the 21st Century" by the International Integrated Reporting Council. However, conflicting opinions and the wide range of extant studies underscore the need to better understand the current contributions in the field. Furthermore, the novelty of integrated reporting makes it necessary to define as yet unexplored fields in this research stream. To that end, we conduct a systematic review of the literature to classify the research according to normative and descriptive perspectives and identify an agenda that will be able to guide future studies. The review shows that the concept of value creation, internal and qualitative determinants, the content and quality of integrated reporting, and its impacts need further investigation.
PurposeThis paper aims to fill the existing gaps in literature which deal with both the application of a socially oriented philosophy to the theme of strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) integration and to the systematic analysis of the processes of strategic CSR management, and to create a connection between social management philosophy and the dynamic approach to CSR integration based on the strategic management processes. In particular, this study aims at creating a conceptual model to highlight, in a structured and organic way, the dynamic relationships, based on a social management philosophy, characterizing the integration of CSR in the different strategic management processes: formulation and implementation of both intended and emergent strategies. In relation to these goals, the following research questions are formulated: What are the most important strategic management processes in which to integrate CSR following a social management philosophy? How does integration (strategic CSR) based on social management philosophy impact these processes? How do strategic CSR processes based on social management philosophy determine strategic change? Which are the management tools which support integration based on social management philosophy?Design/methodology/approachThe work is a conceptual paper. The paper has been developed as follows: the identification of the theoretical gaps; the definition of the research objectives; the literature review about both CSR integration and strategic management in a dynamic perspective; the formulation of the research questions; the conceptual analysis, based on social management philosophy, of the relevant propositions related to the dynamic approach to CSR integration; the building of the conceptual model based on the propositions; and the description and the analysis of the model.FindingsIn this model, three circles of change that are able to describe the integration of CSR into strategic management have been identified: A, the circle for achieving the strategic intent; B, the circle for formulating the strategic intent; and C, the circle of bottom-up innovations.Practical implicationsFrom a managerial perspective, it is possible to point out the following implications related to the integration of CSR into strategic management and the achievement of a strategic CSR: as for change dynamics which are linked to the formulations of the intended strategy, it is fundamental to develop a social management philosophy; to achieve the strategic intent, it is necessary to incorporate CSR actions into core activity of value chain; to favour the socially oriented bottom-up innovations, it is necessary to define a favourable organizational context; the strategic CSR must be supported by integrated tools and methodologies that make the rationalization of processes of change possible; and the application of tools and processes, even sophisticated ones, which are not based on social management philosophy may lead, in the long run, to negative tensions among stakeholders, as well as to serious repercussions on the firm's management and its performance.Social implicationsIt is possible to pinpoint other implications for the society: the circle for achieving the strategic intents, with the aim of improving the execution phase, increases the positive externalities and reduces the negative externalities of the economic activities; the circle for formulating strategic intents allows to identify a win–win solution for CSR issues; and the bottom-up entrepreneurship increases the chances to find innovative solutions which combine social aspects and competitive aspects.Originality/valueThe analyses provide an integrated approach, connecting strategic management and CSR in a dynamic perspective.
AbstractThe lack of convergence between rating agencies in the assessment of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects of companies leads to the so‐called ESG rating disagreement. Although this phenomenon causes confusion and uncertainty among investors, it is still little investigated. Previous research has only focused on some determinants of the disagreement, mainly related to nonfinancial disclosure and corporate aspects, while broader determinants remain unexplored. This study aims to fill this gap by analysing the effects of market value, industry sensitivity, and institutional context on disagreement between two different rating providers. To achieve this goal, a cross‐sectional analysis was conducted for 1809 companies from the S&P 1200 Global Index. The results show that companies with a better market rating, belonging to critical sectors and located in countries with a better institutional environment, have a lower level of ESG disagreement.
AbstractThe advent of New Public Management has brought significant changes in accountability mechanisms. In recent years, the information needs of citizens interested in financial issues and the nonfinancial aspects of public management have increased. Regulators' commitment to transparency has led US municipalities since the 1990s to adopt Popular Annual Financial Reporting (PAFR). This reporting tool, capable of transmitting information to citizens clearly and simply, has also attracted the attention of academics. Despite the presence of several studies on the subject, the quality of the information contained within the popular annual financial reports remains an unexplored topic. This study aims to fill this gap by examining a sample of 100 rewarded US municipalities. The results show a low quality of the popular annual financial reports and demonstrate a positive effect of the population size and a negative impact of the population average age on the quality of these documents.
AbstractIntellectual capital is an important tool for strengthening a firm's competitive advantage and helping it achieve its medium‐ and long‐term financial objectives. Currently accepted accounting principles do not outline strict rules and regulations for intellectual capital disclosure. However, the advent of integrated reporting offer firms an innovative tool to disseminate this information. Although previous research has analysed the intellectual capital found in integrated reports, no studies have analysed the board of directors' role in intellectual capital disclosure policies. This study uses agency theory to analyse the effect of board characteristics on intellectual capital disclosure quality (ICDQ) in the context of integrated reporting. To this end, it develops a new scoring system to measure ICDQ. The results, based on a sample of 130 international firms operating in different sectors, show a positive relationship between board size, independence, diversity and activity with ICDQ.
Purpose This study aims to investigate the financial and country-level determinants of integrated reporting quality in the financial industry. Specifically, this study analyses the impact of profitability, size, leverage and civil law system on the integrated reporting quality.
Design/methodology/approach Hypotheses were tested using a regression model on a sample of 87 financial institutions. An integrated reporting (IR)-quality scoreboard was used to measure report quality.
Findings The results show that IR quality is significantly and positively influenced by profitability, size, financial leverage and the civil law system.
Practical implications The results have particularly important implications for large, profitable financial institutions that make greater use of financial leverage and that are localized in non-civil law countries. Managers should increase transparency by expanding the content and quality of the information contained in the integrated reports.
Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by revealing several financial factors that influence IR quality. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study to investigate IR quality in the context of the financial industry.
AbstractIntegrated reporting (IR) is considered an innovative and effective reporting tool that includes financial and nonfinancial information. Recently, there has been a heightened emphasis on IR from both academic and professional viewpoints. However, despite the importance of stakeholders in the practice of IR, their impact on the report drafting process has not been analysed in any study. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap by analysing the relationship between stakeholders' pressure and IR quality. On the basis of the stakeholder theory, this study uses a regression model to demonstrate how the IR quality is significantly and positively associated with the stakeholders' pressures. Specifically, results of this study indicate that pressures from customers, environmental protection organizations, employees, shareholders, and governments determine the IR quality. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that investigates stakeholders' pressure as a determinant of IR quality.
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the impact of intellectual capital disclosure on the cost of equity capital in the context of integrated reporting, which represents the ultimate frontier in the field of corporate disclosure.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employ content analysis to measure intellectual capital disclosure levels along with a panel analysis on a sample of 164 integrated reports.FindingsEmpirical outcomes indicate that intellectual capital disclosure levels have a significantly negative association with the cost of equity capital.Originality/valueThis study's major contribution lies in its originality in terms of empirical examination of the relationship between intellectual capital disclosure in integrated reports and the cost of equity capital.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to shed light on how family firms execute open innovation strategies by managing internal and external knowledge flows (KF) to provide a deeper understanding of family firms' ability to innovate through traditions and create value across generations.
Design/methodology/approach Empirical evidence was collected using an online survey of a sample of 208 Apulian entrepreneurs, who were members of the association of young entrepreneurs of Confindustria in the Apulia region (southern Italy).
Findings The study derives a model that explains the most relevant factors behind the innovation processes developed by young entrepreneurs in family firms: network membership benefits; KF; track record of innovation; and the entrepreneurial attitude of employees.
Research limitations/implications By integrating insights from different research streams, namely, innovation management, open innovation and family firms, the study provides a novel contribution to the open innovation process in family firms.
Practical implications The study offers interpretative lenses for entrepreneurs and managers to understand the most suitable knowledge transfer process for encouraging open innovation in family firms, taking into consideration young entrepreneurs' traditions and interpersonal skills, the KF in local ecosystems and network benefits as the main variables supporting the innovation process.
Originality/value This study creates a link between open innovation and family firm research by providing an empirically grounded model illustrating how the innovation process is realized in family firms.
