Giuseppe Marzo and Stefano Bonnini
This paper aims to address empirical analyses of the association of the VAIC and its components with firms’ market and financial performance, demonstrating that the ill definition…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to address empirical analyses of the association of the VAIC and its components with firms’ market and financial performance, demonstrating that the ill definition of variables and constructs is responsible for a non-linearity concealed in the VAIC formula between two of its components (the Structural Capital Efficiency and the Human Capital Efficiency).
Design/methodology/approach
Through a conceptual analysis the paper identifies and formalises the non-linearity concealed in the VAIC formula and clarifies the relevant issues through an empirical analysis of a sample of Italian listed companies.
Findings
The paper finds that the non-linearity hidden in the VAIC formula should lead scholars to completely revise the ways they test the association of the VAIC and the market and financial performance of the firm. Useful insights are also provided for scholars interested in investigating the role of human capital, for those involved in analysing the interrelations among capitals through the introduction of interaction terms in their regression models and for researchers proposing modified versions of the VAIC. Practitioners could benefit from the paper as the non-linearity here discovered leads to a substantial of the decision-making based on the VAIC.
Originality/value
The paper offers new insights into analyses using the VAIC as it uncovers a non-linearity hidden in the VAIC, which has hitherto not been reported in the literature. The existence of this non-linearity has substantive implications for previous and future research in this domain.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the usefulness of referring to a theory of the firm as a way to strongly improve internal consistency in both research and practice. To…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the usefulness of referring to a theory of the firm as a way to strongly improve internal consistency in both research and practice. To this end, the paper explores how a theory-of-the-firm perspective can assist in a consistent analysis of IC, focusing on five IC-related issues: the definition and the origins of IC; the set of property rights on IC; its role in the competitive advantage and the value generation process of the firm; the way IC can be valued, including issues relating to the internal and external reporting; and finally the most efficient way to effectively manage and control IC. Analysis is carried out referring to the strengths and weaknesses of the resource-based view (RBV), being the main reference theories for IC scholars and practitioners.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper employs a deductive approach to explore how different theories of the firm shape the way IC-related issues could be consistently analysed.
Findings
The research finds that referring to a theory of the firm assists investigating IC-related issues. It carries out the analysis of five important issues under the two forms of the RBV, demonstrating how a different theory of the firm differentiates analysis and offers room for improving the internal consistency for both research and practice.
Research limitations/implications
Implications of the paper are mainly for improving consistency in research, but they also support practice as for consciousness and awareness. Limitations are as follows. First, the paper offers an analysis of only two selected theories of the firm. Second, the analysis is based on a deductive reasoning which can be criticised for the results, even if not for the aim.
Practical implications
The paper offer stimuli to both theoretical and empirical research and practice. As for research, the paper highlights how consistency can be developed and also focusses on the way empirical research could be consistently carried out. As for practitioners, the paper assists in enlightening covered links between practice and theories.
Originality/value
The paper pays attention to the role of the theory of the firm, as a way for improving internal consistency in the study and the practice of IC.
Details
Keywords
Giuseppe Marzo and Elena Scarpino
The purpose of this paper is to analyse intellectual capital (IC) in SMEs. In particular two research questions are posed: how SMEs acquire or develop knowledge and intangible…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse intellectual capital (IC) in SMEs. In particular two research questions are posed: how SMEs acquire or develop knowledge and intangible resources; and how they manage and exploit IC.
Design/methodology/approach
An in-depth case study of an Italian SME operating in the automobile industry is carried out in order to answer the two research questions.
Findings
The case study evidences the impossibility to sharply divide all of the knowledge-related elements of a firm into the three generally accepted categories of human, organisational (structural) and relational capital. The analysis of IC as a set of stock of resources is important but really partial due to the fact that IC and knowledge continuously change. In this light, the focus on activities and processes help in understating how the firm manages IC. In the studied SME, formal and informal knowledge coexist but in different areas of the firm. Again, the relationships with external stakeholders, suppliers and clients especially, are the source for improving IC. The case study also supports the important role that dialogue and familiarity play in knowledge management. However the focus of management is not knowledge per se, but the solution to problems the firm must deal with, IC and knowledge being just one of the issues to be considered in order to solve problems.
Research limitations/implications
The paper is useful since it addresses the management of IC in SMEs which is a topic under-researched with respect to the economic importance of SMEs. The conclusions of the work, emerging from an individual case study analysis, cannot be generalised. However, they offer support for other studies findings and highlight some specificities of the way SMEs manage IC.
Practical implications
The paper explores the characteristics of IC management in SME in order to contribute towards the differentiation of the view of IC in relation to the “size” of the firm. Approaches originally developed for larger firms fail to consider SMEs characteristics, which indeed are not smaller large firms; therefore, it is in general impossible to think of SME management systems as simpler or smaller than those adopted by large firms. The key point is in fact that SMEs (at least the one here analysed) have management systems which are ontologically different.
Originality/value
Besides the relevant role of SMEs in economy, very few papers have been published on the way IC is developed and managed in SMEs. A gap therefore exists between the economic importance of SME and the attention IC research has given to them, which calls for more research on this area. The paper is a step forward on the way of reducing that gap, since it provides a case study on knowledge and IC management within an Italian SME. Finally, the analysis reinforces similar results of other studies adopting a dynamic perspective for the analysis of IC, which found IC management in SMEs to be more based on informal systems.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of the paper is to offer some advancing in the understanding of the market-to-book value (MBV) gap (or ratio) as the symptom and the metrics for intellectual capital…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the paper is to offer some advancing in the understanding of the market-to-book value (MBV) gap (or ratio) as the symptom and the metrics for intellectual capital (IC) value, and to discuss the major criticisms against it. The original contribution of the paper lies in developing the analysis of the meaning of the MBV from a theory-of-the-firm perspective. Such an approach is employed to shed light on the two sides of MBV: book and market values.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reviews research on MBV and the theory of the firm, employing a deductive approach that explores criticisms and advantages of the use of the MBV gap as the symptom and the metrics of IC according to a specific theory of the firm.
Findings
The paper finds that the presumption that an “accounting fallacy” exists, which refers to the gap between market and book values, must be revised depending on the chosen theory of the firm. In fact, depending on the theory of the firm to which IC scholars refer, book value could not necessarily equate to market value, even if the latter was unbiased. Again, market value could not be able to express the value of IC.
Research limitations/implications
Implications of the paper are mainly for improving consistency in research, but they also support practice for consciousness and awareness. Limitations are the following. First, the paper offers an analysis of just three selected theories of the firm. Second, the analysis is based on a deductive reasoning that can be criticised for results even if not for the aim. Third, one could feel that an IC-centred theory of the firm does not yet exist at all.
Practical implications
Once reasons for abandoning the misbelief that accounting standards should be set in order to close the gap are highlighted, research on IC can move towards more appropriate goals. On the basis of the criticism presented in the paper, empirical research, which makes use of market and book data, could be carried out in a much more consistent way in relation to theoretical background. The paper highlights how the use of the MBV approach can lead to mistakes without a clear reference to the theory of the firm.
Originality/value
The paper focuses on the meaning of the MBV from a theory-of-the-firm perspective, assisting the researcher in avoiding potential mistakes and inconsistencies in their work, and also suggesting some consequences on the practice of IC.
Details
Keywords
Looks at the first 100 years of Italian cinema examining its role in Italy’s recent history. Provides a bibliography of major film directors, Italian cinema sources, reference…
Abstract
Looks at the first 100 years of Italian cinema examining its role in Italy’s recent history. Provides a bibliography of major film directors, Italian cinema sources, reference works, histories, themes, theory and criticism and articles in journals.
Details
Keywords
1. Indicazioni generali L'indagine (1) sulle leggi ha fornito le seguenti indicazioni:
The founders of modern economic thought in Italy are Francesco Ferrara (1810–1900), Luigi Cossa (1831–1896) and Angelo Messedaglia (1820–1901).
Nicolò Cavalli, Francesco Moscone and Catia Nicodemo
With the spread of the coronavirus disease across over 100 countries and its status upgraded to that of a pandemic on 11 March 2020 (World Health Organization), increased…
Abstract
With the spread of the coronavirus disease across over 100 countries and its status upgraded to that of a pandemic on 11 March 2020 (World Health Organization), increased attention is being placed on the policy measures that may be required to effectively curb the rate of contagion within and across countries. Currently, several governments, such as China, Italy, Spain, Japan and the Republic of Korea, have implemented emergency measures informed by the principle of social distancing to limit the spread of coronavirus (World Health Organization). Ever since the virus was first identified in Wuhan City in December 2019, this succession of uncoordinated policy responses offers a set of natural experiments that should be analysed to understand the successes and failures of containment at the societal level. In this analysis, we focus on the case of Italy, the hardest hit country in Europe (Dong, Du, & Gardner, 2020; World Health Organization). The objective of this short note is to provide an even-handed analysis of the actions taken by the Italian government to cope with the transmission of the virus and to highlight lessons in emergency management that can be learnt for other countries currently facing the onset of the Covid-19 epidemic.
Details
Keywords
Paola Paoloni, Giuseppe Modaffari and Niccolò Paoloni
The aim of this paper is to analyze how “mini-bonds,” an innovative financial tool for Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), can contribute to the development and…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to analyze how “mini-bonds,” an innovative financial tool for Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), can contribute to the development and sustainability of the agri-food sector and its local products, such as Pecorino Cheese.
Design/methodology/approach
The study was conducted as a qualitative case study applying the CAOS (“characteristics, ambience, organization, start-up”) model. This model makes it possible to describe all variables that affect a company in a given economic context.
Findings
In Sardinia, a small island to the southwest of Italy, there are more than 60,000 agricultural enterprises, 60 percent of which are shepherding operations. Obtaining financial resources is a constant challenge, often related to the uncertainties inherent in seasonal activities. This paper explores how a mini-bond was implemented to promote the development and sustainability of Pecorino Cheese.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations are chiefly related to the short observation period—the bond was first issued in 2018—and to the narrow geographical base of observation.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the expanding body of literature on innovative financial tools for the promotion and development of the local agri-food heritage. It may be useful to practitioners currently researching and developing growth strategies for companies. Existing barriers to credit access are among the most important causes of the lack of development of SMEs, especially in Italy where SMEs represent the principal type of new businesses in the agri-food sector, and their economic success is so dependent on seasonality. In February 2019, the Pecorino case played a role in the Italian government stepping in to avoid the collapse of the price of milk. Future research will focus on the analysis of specific economic results of the financial operations described herein, and will further focus on possibly similar cases of local products making use of innovative financial tools.