Antonio Iazzi, Paola Scorrano, Pierfelice Rosato and Balakrishna Grandhi
The purpose of this paper is to verify the preferences for the purchase of rosé wine by Italian and French Millennials, with the aim of allowing Italian companies to acquire…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to verify the preferences for the purchase of rosé wine by Italian and French Millennials, with the aim of allowing Italian companies to acquire knowledge in improving the positioning of this product in both the Italian and French markets.
Design/methodology/approach
The study involved a descriptive survey conducted between December 2018 and January 2019 on Millennials residing in Italy and France, intercepted via Facebook. In total, 500 valid responses to a highly structured self-administered questionnaire were collected. Descriptive and multivariate analysis techniques were used to examine the responses.
Findings
The two groups of Millennials show different preferences in the purchase of rosé wine. French Millennials rarely buy the product, and perhaps only for reasonable prices. Their purchasing process involves no characteristics of particular importance. On the other hand, Italian Millennials buy the product with a higher frequency and show a greater propensity to spend. In general, they attribute greater importance (though not a great deal of importance) to the characteristics of the product, paying attention to both its intrinsic aspects and its territorial origin and the quality certifications.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of the research is the small sample size. Future insights into the consumption of rosé wine will be sought in other significant European markets.
Practical implications
This study is of value to academic researchers, wine industry practitioners and other members of the wine distribution channel, as it provides insights into consumer behavior differences.
Originality/value
This research is the first to compare rosé wine preferences of Millennials in France and Italy.
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Antonio Iazzi, Andrea Vacca, Amedeo Maizza and Francesco Schiavone
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of corporate governance mechanisms, namely, board of directors and auditors, on tax aggressiveness in Italian companies…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of corporate governance mechanisms, namely, board of directors and auditors, on tax aggressiveness in Italian companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a population of 168 Italian non-financial firms listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, holding shares in at least one foreign subsidiary in countries other than Italy in fiscal year 2018. Data on corporate boards and auditors were collected through the evaluation of companies’ annual reports over the period 2011–2018. Five panel data analyses with fixed effects were performed for each tax aggressiveness index, yielding 1,176 observations to test the research hypothesis.
Findings
This paper finds that corporate board characteristics, such as size, gender diversity and CEO duality, and auditors’ features, such as external audit quality, increase corporate tax aggressiveness.
Practical implications
This study provides investors with an understanding of corporate boards’ and auditors’ roles in preventing agency conflicts and evaluating a company’s tax approach. Furthermore, the findings are useful for international political bodies in regulating corporate board composition and managerial monitoring.
Originality/value
Almost all studies focusing primarily on corporate governance mechanisms’ effects on tax aggressiveness are within the US context. Empirical evidence on the topic in the European contexts is limited. The legislative discrepancy between countries is reflected in the computation of indices measuring tax aggressiveness, affecting US studies' generalizability across nations. This paper extends the literature on the topic by investigating other unexplored corporate governance mechanisms. Five indices were used to measure corporate tax aggressiveness and to assess analysis reliability and data robustness. Moreover, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt to investigate the link between corporate governance mechanisms and tax aggressiveness in Italy.
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Antonio Iazzi, Lorenzo Ligorio and Lea Iaia
A model on the cognitive elements of engagement is adopted and content analysis, along with sentiment analysis, has been used to explore the post characteristics and the levels of…
Abstract
Purpose
A model on the cognitive elements of engagement is adopted and content analysis, along with sentiment analysis, has been used to explore the post characteristics and the levels of stakeholders' interactions in controversial and non-controversial European industries through three Poisson regressions. At last, an ANOVA test has been used to check the level of interaction regarding the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related aspects.
Design/methodology/approach
The intrinsic characteristics of controversial industries cause the stakeholders’ skepticism about their corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategies. This results in the need to elaborate proper involvement strategies to approach industries' stakeholders. Such need has assumed relevance during the COVID-19 crisis and has traced a certain border between the companies that are more sensitive to the social side of the surrounding environment and the ones that are less involved in risky sectors. The present paper aims to understand the role of social media in stakeholder engagement, and social media's characteristics, and tries to elaborate on companies' CSR communication readiness to the challenges shown by the pandemic.
Findings
The study reveals how the success of stakeholder engagement in CSR communication is affected by both controversial sector membership and the characteristics of the posts such as the inclusion of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). In addition, the study emerges how the European companies have focused on social aspects in companies' communication, revealing a certain readiness for the COVID-19 challenges.
Practical implications
Building on a model of cognitive elements of engagement, the present study provides useful insights for companies' next engagement strategies on social media. Moreover, the thematic analysis provides a benchmark for the improvement of current corporations' communication strategies in light of the pandemic effects.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature by investigating the role of Twitter as a stakeholder engagement tool and identifies the drivers for an effective Twitter content strategy. Moreover, the paper provides a useful proxy for current and future research on the COVID-19-related CSR communication.
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Antonio Iazzi, Lorenzo Ligorio, Demetris Vrontis and Oronzo Trio
The objective of the paper is to assess food and beverage companies' levels of communication about their activities and sustainability performances, in terms of their compliance…
Abstract
Purpose
The objective of the paper is to assess food and beverage companies' levels of communication about their activities and sustainability performances, in terms of their compliance with the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and the consistency of the contents of the sustainability reports they publish on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Design/methodology/approach
To this end, a content analysis of the non-financial reports published by 102 food and beverage companies in the year 2018 has been conducted to identify the most adopted GRI guideline and the nature of the communicated SDGs. Finally, three t-tests have been used to understand how the presence on a listed market, the geographical settlement and nature of the company affects the corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication.
Findings
The study has revealed how the transition to the more recent GRI Standards guidelines is still on going. Also, it has emerged how food and beverage companies are supporting the pursuit of the SDGs through the reduction of work inequalities. At last, the analysis has showed how the presence on a listed market is a driver of CSR communication.
Originality/value
The findings of the present study provide a picture of the current CSR practices in the food and beverage sector and allow companies to effectively choose the most suitable non-financial indicators and GRI guidelines. Also, the present contribution has revealed the key SDGs considered by food and beverage companies.
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Urszula Garczarek-Bak, Andrzej Szymkowiak, Zuzanna Jaks and Erik Jansto
In this study, the effects are investigated of brand and product storytelling on customer assessments of perceived attitude, quality, experience, recommendation and purchase…
Abstract
Purpose
In this study, the effects are investigated of brand and product storytelling on customer assessments of perceived attitude, quality, experience, recommendation and purchase intention based on narrative transportation theory within the domain of winery e-commerce.
Design/methodology/approach
In the research, two distinct constructs are introduced for brand and product storytelling, and multivariate analysis of variance is applied to analyze data collected from 391 respondents from the UK.
Findings
It is indicated in the study that embedding storytelling into elements, such as age verification screens on e-commerce sites, notably improves evaluations for both brands and products. Product storytelling broadly boosts customer appraisals in every evaluated aspect, while brand storytelling shows effectiveness in more limited cases. This suggests that narratives focused on products may have a wider appeal in enhancing the online customer experience.
Originality/value
This research underscores the strategic significance of balancing the focus between brand and product in crafting storytelling narratives for e-commerce contexts. It offers new insights into tailoring storytelling to meet individual consumer needs online, enriching the existing body of literature on storytelling’s application in digital commerce. Importantly, the study provides actionable guidance for wineries and other businesses aiming to enhance their online customer engagement through targeted narrative strategies.
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Benedetta Esposito, Maria Rosaria Sessa, Daniela Sica and Ornella Malandrino
This paper aims to explore how the Italian wine industry discloses corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and quality certifications and the corresponding determinants…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how the Italian wine industry discloses corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices and quality certifications and the corresponding determinants via websites. The study also aims to investigate the relationship between CSR practices and financial performance. The information consistency between the quality certificates reported on corporate websites and official database statements is also explored. Lastly, the paper investigates how the relationship between the size of wineries and CSR disclosure changes according to firms' geographic location.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper analyses CSR corporate communication via the websites of a sample of Italian wineries by adjusting the theoretical framework developed by Amran (2012) to the wine sector's peculiarities. Moreover, a cross-certification analysis and a moderation analysis were performed to fulfil the purpose of the research.
Findings
The analysis revealed the extensive use of CSR disclosure via websites. It was found that company size positively affects CSR disclosure and Quality Certification Disclosure (QCD), while geographic location slightly moderates the relationship between the two variables. In addition, a negative relationship between CSR disclosure and corporate financial performance and its reverse causality emerged. Moreover, for most wineries, information consistency between the quality certificates reported on corporate websites and official database statements was observed.
Research limitations/implications
The study's main limitation is that the search process was performed during lockdown. Therefore, the examined issues could change in the near future due to the shift in priorities that the COVID-19 pandemic is determining.
Practical implications
The results can help managers implement CSR disclosure and QCD practices to enhance stakeholder legitimacy and enable their companies to compete in strongly competitive international markets.
Originality/value
The paper represents the first study investigating online QCD and its consistency in the Italian wine sector.
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Antonino Galati, Pietro Moavero and Maria Crescimanno
The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers’ willingness to accept irradiated food and the major factors related both to socio-demographic characteristics and to the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate consumers’ willingness to accept irradiated food and the major factors related both to socio-demographic characteristics and to the perceived risk of consumers about the assumption of foods treated with novel technologies and irradiation, in particular, affecting their behavior. Consumers’ need for information has been investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey, involving 392 consumers living in Italy, was carried out to respond to the aim of the study. A Probit model was performed in order to identify major factors affecting the probability to accept food treated with ionizing radiation.
Findings
Findings show that the acceptability of irradiated foods is mainly affected by the consumers’ perceived risk to health consequent to their consumption. Equally influent are the socio-economic characteristics such as age, monthly income and geographical area in which consumers live.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides some interesting suggestions both for policy makers and managers, primarily related to the need to start an effective promotion campaign aimed to familiarize the consumers about the principles, aims and benefits of irradiation technology.
Originality/value
Very few empirical studies have been carried out in order to evaluate the acceptability of foods products treated with ionizing radiation in Italy, where exist a growing problem related to the food loss and waste, and the need for information among consumers about the irradiated foods.