Giustina Secundo, Pierluigi Rippa and Michele Meoli
This paper analyses whether the entrepreneurship education centres introduced by the Italian Ministry of Higher Education and Research in 2012 (the Italian Contamination Labs �…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper analyses whether the entrepreneurship education centres introduced by the Italian Ministry of Higher Education and Research in 2012 (the Italian Contamination Labs – CLabs) are effectively adopting the emergent digital technologies for nurturing their entrepreneurship education activities and dissemination of knowledge contamination practices among university students.
Design/methodology/approach
An in-depth analysis of italian entrepreneurship education centres provides evidence about the direct role played by digital technologies in supporting and enhancing the entrepreneurial processes, as well as on their indirect role in stimulating entrepreneurship activities of nascent student entrepreneurs.
Findings
Findings provide some insights into the strategic role of some categories of digital technologies inside the CLabs. The main results show still a weak use of digital technologies in CLabs except for social media and digital platforms, mainly used for promotion scope and communication of the entrepreneurial outputs achieved by the students.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of the study consist of the need to expand the study to all the other CLabs belonging to the CLabs Italian Network and to derive a set of “invariance” among the cases in terms of digital technologies support for student entrepreneurship.
Practical implications
New ways of managing entrepreneurship centres will involve a more massive adoption of digital technologies to support and transform some processes realized inside the CLabs, even if the governance of such centres must develop new digital skills.
Originality/value
The originality of the work regards the contribution to the emerging role of digital technologies on the student's entrepreneurship.
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Giustina Secundo, Pierluigi Rippa, Michele Meoli and Erik E. Lehmann
Michele Meoli, Stefano Paleari and Giovanni Urga
The purpose of this paper is to report on the study of the two acquisitions of Telecom Italia carried out by Olivetti and Pirelli in the last decade, to evaluate how changes in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on the study of the two acquisitions of Telecom Italia carried out by Olivetti and Pirelli in the last decade, to evaluate how changes in ownership structure and corporate governance affected minority protection.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents an analysis of how Olivetti's and Pirelli's takeovers were achieved. Then the authors contrast the two operations with regards to extraction of private benefits and expropriation of minorities' wealth.
Findings
Shows that, in the case of Telecom Italia, the implementation of pyramids is connected with the existence of large private benefits, and that the acquisitions resulted in the substantial expropriation of minority shareholders.
Research limitations/implications
The analysis is referred to a very unique case. While a lot can be learnt from this approach, generalisations are not trivial.
Practical implications
The conclusion is that groups owning several listed companies deserve a special discipline, as many are the policy implications of their presence in financial markets.
Originality/value
Proposes an ad hoc methodology to consider companies from the top to the bottom of the pyramid chain, and to put in a common framework the non‐simultaneous operations linked by a common strategic goal, namely an acquisition. Further, a set of governance lessons is provided.
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Michele Meoli, Andrea Signori and Silvio Vismara
– The purpose of this paper is to relate the fees paid to IPO underwriters to the nature and quality of the services they provide.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to relate the fees paid to IPO underwriters to the nature and quality of the services they provide.
Design/methodology/approach
Controlling for the characteristics of the firm going public, the risk associated with the offering, and the reputation of the underwriter, the authors study on a sample of Italian IPOs whether a formal commitment by underwriters to provide ancillary services allows them to charge higher fees.
Findings
The authors document that asking underwriters to stabilize stock price is costly to the issuer, while to support liquidity is not. The authors’ also show that underwriters stabilize IPOs that really need it, whereas the provision of liquidity support does not seem to be always aligned with the issuer’s interest.
Originality/value
Investigating the Italian underwriting market is instructive for two main reasons. First, the institutional setting in IPOs is similar to most continental European countries, but significantly different from the US market. For instance, allocation policies in US IPOs are discretionary for both retail and institutional investors, while in Europe shares cannot be discretionarily allocated to retail investors. Second, the Italian market offers the opportunity to study the going-public decision outside the typical Anglo-Saxon financial systems. This is of interest because while both the UK and the USA have well-developed equity markets and a related industry of financial intermediation centered on providing equity, our analysis sheds light on financial intermediation of IPOs in a bank-centered system.
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Kristin Burton, Michele Heath and William Luse
The study investigates the impact of various factors on the number of active investors in digital health startups. Through nine hypotheses, we examine the influence of metrics…
Abstract
Purpose
The study investigates the impact of various factors on the number of active investors in digital health startups. Through nine hypotheses, we examine the influence of metrics such as patents, online presence, financial aspects and company valuation on investor interest. The results reveal positive associations between these metrics and investor numbers, highlighting their role in signaling strength and attracting investment. This research enhances the understanding of investor valuation in digital health startups, emphasizing the importance of credible signals for building trust and securing funding. However, we acknowledge limitations in data analysis methods and suggest future research to explore industry signals, longitudinal trends and failed startups for comprehensive insights.
Design/methodology/approach
This study delves into the design methodology and approach, aiming to fill gaps in understanding investor roles in valuing digital health ventures. We focus on deciphering factors driving valuations for these startups to secure growth financing. Using signaling theory, we investigate how entrepreneurs communicate their latent strengths to bridge information gaps, aiding investment decisions. We analyze a sample of 482 healthcare startups from the Pitchbook database using Poisson regression in SPSS.
Findings
This research sheds light on the factors driving investor interest in digital health startups. Despite the critical role of entrepreneurs in patient care innovations, the relationship between investor characteristics and funding for digital health technologies still needs exploration. We examine factors influencing investor valuation in healthcare startups and identify patents, social followers and financial disclosures as pivotal elements shaping investor interest. The findings show that all factors for active investors are significant for all variables except similar unique visitors.
Originality/value
These results significantly enhance our understanding of investor decision-making in digital health startups. They confirm the importance of various signals, like patent activity, online presence and financial performance, in attracting investor attention. We utilize unique data sources, offering insights into investors' behavior across different funding stages. In conclusion, these findings underscore investors' crucial role in the growth and funding of healthcare tech startups, emphasizing the need for robust signals to attract investment.