Exploring the determinants of corporate social performance: does firm size matter?

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the relationship between relevant company determinants and corporate social performance as measured by the social pillar of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) score, exploring whether firm size matters. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use the system generalized method of moment estimator for dynamic panel data to analyze an unbalanced panel of firms listed in the STOXX Europe 600 index from 2015 to 2021. Findings – The results indicate that several board characteristics (size, independence, percentage of nonexecutive members, gender diversity and the presence of a corporate social responsibility sustainability committee) and fewer ESG controversies are associated with higher corporate social performance. However, the results show no relationship between corporate financial performance and the social pillar. Furthermore, the authors demonstrate that large companies and those external to the financial industry show higher social performance. Practical implications – The findings provide important implications for several stakeholders, including regulators and policymakers. Increasing attention should be directed toward specific firm determinants to enhance corporate social performance. Originality/value – The authors advance understanding of the existing literature by examining how corporate social performance is influenced by its main corporate determinants

Contextual Tomographic SAR Denoising Approach for Estimating Scatterers’ Height and Deformation Velocity

The reliability of tomographic synthetic aperture radar (TomoSAR) products depends on the quality of complex-valued tomographic interferograms. The latter is unfortunately affected by noise from various sources. In order to reduce their impact and thus improve the outcome, filtering methods can be implemented at different levels of the TomoSAR process. In this article, we propose the application of a contextual denoising approach in transformed domains, based on subband decomposition and nonlinear weighting, with the aim to study its influence on TomoSAR height and deformation velocity estimation using generalized likelihood ratio test detection. Both spatial and spatiotemporal arrangements of overlapping blocks are considered in wavelet domains. The nonlinear filtering parameter is estimated from the coherence and/or pseudo-correlation (CPC) indicators. In order to show the effectiveness of the approach, the obtained findings have been compared to the state-of-the-art methods, namely, Goldstein and Baran filters. The assessment of the results with respect to denoising and TomoSAR evaluation metrics was carried out using both simulated and real data acquired by TerraSAR-X (TSX) satellite over the city of Naples

Crisi d'impresa e operazioni straordinarie (Primi appunti sul novellato art. 116 CCII)

Lo scritto analizza la nuova disciplina delle operazioni straordinarie contenuta nell’art. 116 CCII riformulato dal d.lgs. 136/2024 alla luce dei problemi interpretativi sollevati dalla precedente formulazione della norma e si sofferma, in particolare, sulle peculiarità del procedimento di fusione e scissione nella disciplina concorsuale e sulle conseguenze della sua emancipazione dalle regole generali del codice civile. The paper analyzes the new regulation of merger and divisions contained in the art. 116 CCII reformulated by Legislative Decree n° 136/2024 in light of the problems raised by the previous rule and focuses, in particular, on the peculiarities of the merger and division procedure in insolvency law and on the consequences of its exceptionality compared to the civil code general rules

Does equity crowdfunding enhance the survival of sustainability ventures?

This study investigates the impact of equity crowdfunding on the survival rates of sustainability ventures. Utilizing data from UK-based companies that have successfully issued equity via crowdfunding platforms, the analysis differentiates the outcomes for environmentally sustainable ventures compared to others. The findings suggest that equity crowdfunding appears to confer long-term benefits on these companies, as evidenced by their lower failure rates. The advantage is more pronounced for companies operating outside the technology sector

Food waste is embarrassing! Motivations and actions to prevent it among students in Italy

Purpose – According to recent studies, young people are most inclined to waste food, and an important category is represented by students. Unlike other young people, they possess several characteristics that influence their food waste behaviour. For these reasons, this study aims to identify the elements that influence students’ behaviour towards food waste in Italy to provide insights on how to reduce food waste among young consumers. Design/methodology/approach – In this exploratory research, a Web survey involving 1,066 Italian students was used, and, after a factor analysis, a hierarchical multiple linear regression model was applied. Findings – The findings showed that, at a young age, the food thrown away and the reasons are positively associated with food waste, while the family size and the actions that students adopt to prevent food waste are negatively associated with it. Practical implications – Recognizing that students are the people who will shape the food waste scenario of the future, it is important to implement educational paths about it and to raise consumer awareness. The findings might provide interesting insights on how to develop educational campaigns for specific target groups, such as students. In fact, the results underline that local institutions and retailers should be involved in educational campaigns aimed at both addressing the motivations behind food waste and improving the actions people take to prevent it. Originality/value – The paper revisits the issue using a relatively large sample of Italian students (youths aged 16–18 years). The results provide valuable insights on how to approach hypothetical Italian students in view of the potential development of new strategies for reducing food waste

Changes in large-scale circulation behind the increase in extreme heat events in the Apennines (Italy)

This study, using a dataset consisting of in-situ daily temperature records and ERA5 reanalysis data, analyses the extreme temperature events (i.e., heat waves and warm spells) occurred in the Apennine Mountains (Italy) over the period 1961–2022. The available dataset has been employed to meet the following two main goals: i) to assess the linear trends of the heat waves and warm spells in terms of number of events, duration, and severity by applying the Seasonal Kendall test; ii) to shed light, on a seasonal basis, on the synoptic climatology of such events. From the linear trend analysis, it emerged that the Apennines, as many other regions of the world, experienced an increasing trend in extreme temperature episodes. In particular, in the last 30-year reference period (1991–2020), the number of regional extreme heat events increased by 134 % in summer and 102 % in spring compared to the 1961–1990 period, while in winter and autumn the increase in warm spells is smaller (53 % and 27 %, respectively) and generally not statistically significant in terms of duration and severity. Using Principal Component Analysis and k-means clustering, several synoptic-scale patterns that can trigger extreme hot conditions in the study area are identified. In the last 30-year period, notable changes in the synoptic climatology of extreme heat events have been detected in summer, as well as in spring and autumn. Specifically, in summer the large-scale patterns characterised by a cyclonic area over the eastern North Atlantic (over the British Islands or off the coasts of Ireland) and by a ridge from North Africa to the eastern Europe provide a larger relative contribution to the total number of events. Such patterns promote the advection, over the study area, of hot subtropical air masses, mainly at mid-tropospheric levels. Summer heat waves in the Apennines are generally preceded and accompanied by negative sea surface temperature anomaly with a negative tendency in the eastern North Atlantic area. Such results supply new insights about the links between extreme heat events in the central Mediterranean area and large-scale atmospheric types as well as useful tools to improve the predictability of heat waves and warm spells at both meteorological and climatological time scales

Fiscal incentives for energy poverty in Italy: Bridging the gap or missing the mark?

This study evaluates the effectiveness of Italian fiscal incentives for energy retrofitting, with a particular focus on their role in addressing energy poverty. It examines the distribution of these incentives across households, assessing their impact on energy-vulnerable groups using well-established energy-poverty indicators. Drawing on data from the 2022 Household Budget Survey by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), the analysis employs Propensity Score Matching (PSM) to determine the extent to which tax credits for energy-efficient renovations benefit energy-poor households—an aspect of policy effectiveness largely overlooked in the literature. The findings reveal that higher-income households disproportionately benefit from these incentives, highlighting inefficiencies in targeting mechanisms. Despite promoting energy efficiency improvements, fiscal subsidies remain largely inaccessible to low-income, energy-poor households. The study underscores the need for policy refinements, such as income-based eligibility criteria and enhanced outreach efforts, to ensure more equitable access to energy-saving incentives. Furthermore, it acknowledges data limitations, particularly the absence of longitudinal tracking, and calls for more granular data collection to assess long-term impacts effectively. These insights contribute to the broader discourse on optimizing fiscal policies to mitigate energy poverty and support sustainable energy transitions

Optical Fiber Probe Based on Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance of Gold Nanostructures for Chemical Sensing

In this study, we present an experimental investigation of highly sensitive optical fiber sensors utilizing localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), achieved by depositing gold nanoparticles (NP) onto uncladded silica multi-mode fiber. This setup takes advantage of the unique optical characteristics of optical fiber sensors and plasmonic resonance provided by gold NPs. The experimental results demonstrated a maximum sensitivity of about 130 nm/RIU in water solution, for an LSPR wavelength at 560 nm. As a study case, the sensor was used to detect Thiram, a common agricultural pesticide, exhibiting a wide detection range from 10 nM to 100 μM, with a significant wavelength shift up to 4 nm. Moreover, a preliminary study involving the use of nanostar-based optical fiber sensors is comparatively provided. The highest sensitivity makes this approach highly promising for a range of applications, including environmental monitoring, biomedical diagnostics, and chemical detection