0000000000052975
AUTHOR
Maria Assunta Baldini
Does board diversity affect firm performance? Evidence from the Italian Financial Sector
The aim of the study is to examine the effect of diversity in the board of directors on the performance of the listed Italian financial institutions. The sample is a data set of 177 firm-year observations covering 2011 to 2014. The performance of the firm is measured by Tobin’s Q while board diversity is analysed considering the percentage of female and foreign directors on the board (or their conjoint presence as a proxy of overall demographic diversity) and task-diversity is measured by board interlocking directorship and busy directors. Findings suggest that female directors have no effect on firm performance. Foreign directors and interlocking directorship have, instead, a positive stat…
Intellectual capital disclosure in sustainability reports
The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the level and the quality of voluntary disclosures of Intellectual Capital (IC) in the sustainability reports on a sample of Italian listed companies. The authors conducted an analysis of twelve sustainability reports for two years (2009-2010). These are related to six firms selected among the most capitalized 37 Italian listed companies. To investigate the “level of disclosure,” the authors identified the presence of IC information, while to evaluate the “IC quality,” they constructed a voluntary disclosure index based on content analysis. IC information disclosure is more likely present in sustainability reports of firms with a higher levels of ap…
The Measurement of Human Capital in Family Firms
Intangibles are the key elements underpinning the competitiveness of enterprises. Among them a decisive role is certainly represented by the skills, knowledge, skills and experience possessed by members within organizations, as fundamental drivers thanks to which delineate identity and strategic objectives. Intangible assets became the determinants and foremost sources of company success (Drucker, 1993). The literature on human capital proposed that firms require to recruit, nurture and retain talents so that the knowledge base can be extended, which has the capacity to improve an organization's overall productivity (Boxall, 2003; Lin & Wang, 2005, Lim et al., 2010; Mehralian et al., 20…
Corporate governance and performance: An analysis of Italian listed companies
In recent years, both corporate governance and performance management have been subjected to considerable changes. In this dynamic context, it is interesting to study the evolution of the relationship between performance and governance. Does governance still affect performance? The purpose of this paper is to verify the presence and intensity (extent) of the relationship between corporate governance and performance in Italian listed companies by using both accounting and non-accounting performance measures. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of prior firm performance on board composition and governance structure of some companies listed on the Italian stock exchange, an…
Intellectual Capital Report in the Healthcare Sector: An Analysis of a Case Study
In the healthcare sector the growing interest in intellectual capital begins with the understanding that the ability to maintain and develop knowledge within it is one of a major reason for the success of the structure. Knowledge presents in health care organizations is a valuable asset, essential to ensure a good quality of services, which has been not only enhanced but also continuously developed. In this sense, analyzing the intellectual capital in healthcare means put at the centre of attention knowledge, the processes that make it possible. This exploratory study aims to investigate the importance of intellectual capital in the healthcare sector, thorough the examination and interpreta…
The influence of corporate governance's decision on corporate social responsibility
The need for an accurate and detailed disclosure, the need to understand the mechanisms of government under which the company is managed and controlled, are the starting point of the choices of the many stakeholders that revolve around the company. A large number of players is interested in corporate governance are among these, not only the major shareholders, but also an increasing number of small investors. CSR is an extension of firms efforts to foster effective corporate governance, ensuring firms sustainability via sound business practices that promote accountability and transparency. rnThe paper aims to explore the impact that various corporate governance mechanisms have on the commit…
A Framework to Measure Intellectual Capital
New technologies have changed the structure of companies shifting the focus of creating value from material resources to intangibles. The competitive advantage is increasingly reliant on the presence of specific intangibles such as knowledge, experience, communication skills that are the main source of competitive advantage. Among the intangibles based on knowledge, intellectual capital certainly occupies a prominent place. In recent years the increasing complexity that characterized the business management influenced companies to adopt new models of reporting and accounting, taking into account issues and intangible factors not considered so far with the right attention. The objective of t…