Search results

Literature and practice highlight the need to stimulate processes of qualitative growth in SMEs. The aim of the research presented in this paper is to identify a type of benchmarking and a benchmarking tool which can support the qualitative growth of these companies.

During the study, literature review and empirical research had been carried out and further information was gathered by means of workshops and interviews to experts. Finally, the achieved results were tested on a sample of eight Italian SMEs.

Approaches to benchmarking were reviewed and classified; synthetic benchmarking based on managerial practices was chosen as the most appropriate approach to stimulate improvement and qualitative growth in SMEs; moreover a tool for synthetic benchmarking on managerial practices tool was developed.

The research has practical implication; it provides SMEs with adequate tool and methodology able to support the development of management system. The tool is able to allow SMEs to learn best managerial practices, assess itself with respect to these practices and at the same time understand what must be done to carry out improvement.

The developed tool has a general validity, it does not consider particular situation, but if some codified practices are not applicable to a specific company, it is possible to rule out these practices without compromising the effectives of the tool.

The aim of this study is to investigate both the path taken by companies in order to survive in a competitive environment and the factors that have favoured or limited their development.

The study was carried out using a retrospective approach. Empirical evidence was gathered using a descriptive survey and data collected during previous research programs involving 100 SMEs located in the Veneto region (Italy).

The findings show that a lack of organizational capabilities is one of the main factors limiting development in SMEs. The companies investigated appear to follow similar paths and performance measurement systems (PMS) could play a key role as a potential driver of managerial development in SMEs.

The study refers solely to Italian SMEs located in the Veneto region. Conclusions on the role played by PMS as a system for supporting development were based on a theoretical study; an ad hoc empirical study would be useful for further investigation of this topic.

The study emphasizes the important role played by organizational capability for favouring the competitiveness and survival of SMEs. The study indicated that in SMEs managerial developments usually come later, following changes in strategy. Firms could prevent managerial crisis by implementing managerial systems.

Traditionally the growth of SMEs is measured by turnover and number of employees. This study highlights the importance of investigating not only quantitative, but also qualitative growth to analyse development in SMEs. PMS is presented as a key managerial system that can support qualitative growth and promote the competitiveness of SMEs.

The growing importance and considerable prestige that quality awards hold have encouraged firms to adopt “excellence models” as evaluation frameworks for organisational self‐assessment. This has contributed to the spread of a specific form of self‐assessment logic: primarily, the search for conformity to a set of non‐prescriptive requirements that reflect validated, leading‐edge management practices; secondarily, the search of alignment of practices with organisational needs and business factors. But the adoption of this kind of self‐assessment is not necessarily the proper “choice”, particularly for small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs). This paper examines the nature of the diagnostic processes incorporated in award‐based self‐assessment and in other diagnostic models developed in the organisational literature. This analysis provides the foundation for the development of a classification matrix that enables us to differentiate five self‐assessment approaches (paradigmatic, normative, situational, normative‐situational, and open), which can be implemented either with a process‐based or a non‐process‐based analytical frame. On the basis of this matrix we outline a “conceptual map” that could help SMEs in questioning the meaning and substance of “organisational self‐assessment” so as to choose knowingly and rationally frameworks and diagnostics instruments.

The attention focused on the complex set of human activities through which a company attempts to create value for its stakeholders is one of the most characteristic features of the total quality management (TQM) concept. This focalisation on the concept of process in the field of competitive quality is today mirrored in the prerequisites of normative quality, as the new ISO 9001: 2000 standard encourages a process approach to quality management. This article aims to investigate the relationship between the crucial aspects of process management and the normative indications of ISO 9001: 2000. To this aim, a conceptual framework is proposed which integrates the core components of process management methodologies described in the literature. The framework is used to analyse the requirements of the new quality system standard and to evaluate the conceptual advancement of ISO 9001: 2000 toward TQM principles and practices. The paper discusses how the harmonisation of normative requirements with TQM could entail several important risks as it increases the problem of ritualistic implementation – i.e. the adoption of external norms exclusively targeted at social legitimation – and concludes with a reflection on the “implementation challenge” that both companies and consultants have to face in order to seek ISO 9001 registration and develop an effective process management system.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate sustainable development goals (SDGs) disclosure and analyst forecast quality.

The study focuses on a sample of 95 Italian-listed companies preparing the mandatory non-financial declaration (NFD) according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards over a five-year period (2017–2021), corresponding to an unbalanced sample of 438 observations. Analyst forecast quality was proxied by earnings forecast accuracy (FA) and earnings forecast dispersion (FD), built on data retrieved from the Refinitiv database. A manual content analysis was performed on NFDs to derive an SDG disclosure score (SDGD) for each sampled company.

This study provides empirical evidence suggesting that voluntary SDG disclosure matters to the capital market in that it helps enhance the information environment of companies, evidenced by improved analyst forecast quality. In particular, this study highlighted that SDG disclosure positively influences analyst FA while negatively affecting analyst FD.

This study focuses on the Italian context, which has idiosyncratic characteristics regarding the structure of the financial market, the composition of corporate ownership and experience in non-financial reporting practices.

This study indicates to corporate managers that following GRI standards may represent the right way to better integrate SDG disclosure in corporate non-financial reports and increase the relevance of such information for investors and other capital market participants.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that empirically examines the association between SDG disclosure and analyst forecast quality.

Surge protective devices are used to limit the maximum voltage on protected circuits. In the last decade, metal oxide varistors (MOVs) have been the most used protective devices. Since many of the outages experienced on sensitive circuits are due to overvoltages originated by the effects of direct and nearby lightning flashes, it is important to evaluate the reliability of such protective devices under lightning stress. Actually, MOVs are affected by ageing, essentially due to the number and amplitude of stresses, and also other factors such as overheating, pollution and humidity. The aim of this paper is to present a method, based on probabilistic arguments, to evaluate the ageing process of MOVs. The expected life, so obtained, can be used to decide when the MOV must be changed before its failure occurs (reliability assessment), since the main standards do not give definitive indications about such features. The estimated expected life can be used in the design of logistic/maintenance procedures.

This study aims to investigate the antecedents of code of ethics’ quality with specific regard to the peculiarities of corporate governance, which include the role of the primary shareholders within the firm, the role and influence of independent directors on the board, the effect of board size on the strategic decision-making process and the influence of the chief executive officer’s (CEO) age and gender diversity.

A sample of 248 Italian public companies publishing a code of ethics as of 2011 is used to test the hypotheses through Tobit regression models.

A positive or negative impact is derived from the implementation of a high-quality code of ethics. Codes of ethics are strongly influenced by the ownership structure of the company given the critical role played by primary shareholders with larger stakes in influencing the quality of a code. Moreover, the lower the number of independent directors, the higher the firm’s propensity to invest in code of ethics’ quality. Similar results were found in relation to board size and CEO age, where smaller boards and younger CEOs are more inclined to implement higher-quality codes of ethics.

Results support the argument that when linked to a sustainability strategic orientation focused on a high-quality code of ethics, corporate governance characteristics reveal influences that differ from those found in prior literature.

The chapter builds on the literature of Agency and Signalling Theories to analyse the corporate governance factors associated with the voluntary decision to prepare an Integrated Report according to the <IR> International Framework promoted by the IIRC.

The chapter is based on the results of a probit regression run with regard to a sample of 35 companies that joined the Pilot Programme in 2011 and 137 similar companies that did not.

The analysis of two samples of European companies reveals that adhesion to the IR Pilot Programme is positively related to the gender diversity and size of the board.

Further research is required in order to study the differences between listed and non-listed companies in terms of variables affecting the adoption of the <IR> Framework and to increase the time range of our study. In addition, it would be interesting to include other variables capturing different aspects other than corporate governance, since the decision to join the Programme, as the results of our analysis have shown, may also be influenced by other factors, such as strategy decisions and communication policies.

The chapter adds to the existing literature by showing the main governance characteristics that impact the decision to adhere to the IR Pilot Programme. It is also important to the existing literature regarding the role played by gender diversity in corporate governance mechanisms and CSR policies.

Digital platforms for the provision of food information-based services (FISs) represent a consolidated business with increasing revenue streams for entrepreneurs. Such platforms have transformed and clarified the nature of uncertainty and ambiguity inherent in the traditional food sector entrepreneurial processes. Anyway, a clear understanding of the value of digital platforms for FISs is not yet consolidated in the literature. With this paper, the authors try to fill this gap through a critical literature review of scientific research that combines knowledge on food consumer's behavior and user's knowledge behavior.

The authors carried out a critical literature review of scientific research combining knowledge of food consumer's and food information user's behavior. This allowed the identification of the main value components of FISs.

The authors propose a multidimensional framework for modelling the value proposition of digital platforms for FISs. Three main value dimensions have been identified: relevance, credibility, and accessibility. These dimensions concur with the consumer's perceived value of consumers in terms of benefits increase and cost reduction.

The research was intended to shed light on aspects characterizing consumers' perception of food information value. The authors put in evidence that the informational perspective of food communication is under-investigated. This study attempts to provide a holistic overview of the dimensions impacting on consumers' perception of the value of information for food consumers, opening new research perspectives.

The framework represents a tool for positioning food information offerings on the market, with the objective to analyze the value proposition of FISs according to a consumer perspective and to understand gaps of current offering of FISs. Moreover, it may support the design of a new generation of digital platform for food information provision, which would respond to consumers' expectations and information needs, highlighting emerging business opportunities for digital entrepreneurs.

Few research works provide a characterization of value proposition of digital platforms providing food information to consumers. In particular, to date, literature lacks of a holistic overview of the dimensions influencing consumer's perception of the information value of food communications.

This chapter contributes to a corpus of legal–anthropological studies concerning the role of cultural experts in legal institutions. It begins by identifying the reasons behind the fragile collaboration between Italian courts and cultural experts and outlining some of the consequences of this relationship. It then presents a collection of cases involving cultural experts including a focus on the L’Aquila trial recounted from first-hand experience by Antonello Ciccozzi, the anthropologist who acted as expert consultant. The conclusions attempt to summarize the “state of the art” of cultural expertise in Italian courts today and call for greater collaboration between law and anthropology as a means of guaranteeing a fair trial.