Value relevance of digitalization: The moderating role of corporate sustainability. An empirical study of Italian listed companies

The purpose of this paper is to assess whether a relation exists between stock market valuation and the extent to which Italian listed companies disclose information on their digitalization initiatives. The authors posit that the disclosure of digitalization-related information is a form of intellectual capital disclosure, which provides potentially value-relevant information to investors. Additionally, it is assumed that the reputation for corporate sustainability affects the relation between digitalization disclosure and stock market valuation. To test the aforementioned hypotheses, the authors first quantified the extent of digitalization disclosure by content-analysing the annual reports of 75 Italian listed companies for the years 2011–2017, and then they examined the value relevance of digitalization-related information accounting for the role of corporate sustainability. Empirical results suggest 1) that stock market participants incorporate digitalization-related information into their business valuation process, and 2) that firms with better reputation for corporate sustainability achieve higher valuations from disclosing their digitalization efforts. The potential contribution of this study is manifold: first, it extends prior research on the value relevance of IC disclosure by broadening its scope to include digitalization-related disclosure and evidencing the (moderating) role of corporate sustainability in firm valuation; second, it provides some empirical substance to the discussion on how to measure the value a company extracts from digitalization efforts; and third, it may support the case for increased non-financial disclosure as called for by accounting regulators and standard setters

Vertical and Shared Leadership in Large Safety-Oriented Organizations. An Empirical Analysis

This article explores the relationship between leadership and safety-oriented culture, by analyzing the predictive role of vertical and shared leadership styles (and behaviors). Drawing on a sample of 68 managers from a safety-oriented organization, we develop a set of hypothesis in order to understand the different relationships between leadership styles (and behaviors) under prevention context as well as crisis situation. To test hypothesis we ran separate hierarchical regression analysis. Results highlight that vertical leadership variables account for a significant amount of variance in prevention context beyond the shared leadership variables, as well as the shared leadership variables account for a significant amount of variance over the vertical leadership styles under emergencies context. With respect to the existing literature, the paper contributes to the leadership literature and safety-oriented culture by showing how vertical and shared leadership (transformational and transactional) are related to prevention and containment processes and should be both considered in order to manage different contingencies that happen as ordinary and extraordinary events in the organization

Non-financial Disclosure and Materiality: Exploring the Role of CFOs

The attention to corporate sustainability has brought non-financial disclosure (NFD) into widespread use. With the rise of NFD, companies face the challenge of determining what information is material. To date, there is a shortage of qualitative studies that investigate how nonfinancial materiality gets defined and implemented in practice. To fill the gap, through a case analysis of two Italian listed companies, this chapter explores the following research questions: Who participates and which is the role of the CFO/controller in the materiality determination process? Whose information needs are primarily addressed when determining what is material or not? The findings show that the key organizational actors involved in the materiality determination process and their roles (including the CFO and the Chief Audit Executive) are different between the two companies and the related materiality assessment is mainly driven by the information needs of capital providers. Instead, the relevant implications for the materiality process to remark are the complexity of the stakeholder audience, the CFO’s skills, and the extension of managerial proxies to the CFO

Livelli multidimensionali di analisi per le decisioni in Medicina: EBM e possibili Bias Cognitive nella valutazione dell’introduzione dei nuovi farmaci.

Evidence based medicine e possibili Bias Cognitive nella valutazione dell’introduzione dei nuovi farmaci

Progression of coronary artery calcification in patients with chronic kidney disease. Role of phosphorus binders

Introduction and Aims: Coronary artery calcifications (CAC) are more frequent in patients on dialysis (ESRD-patients) than in general population and rapidly proceed. Progression may cause further cardiovascular events. Greater prevalence and progression of CAC have been ascribed to exoge- nous calcium load consequent to high-calcium dialysate, and/or calcium containing phosphate binders (CCPB). Prevalence and progression of CAC have been recently reported to be greater in pre-dialysis patients than in normal subjects; progression was found to be correlated to phosphorus despite the majority of patients had normal concentration; fatal and not-fatal cardiovascular events occurred with manifest progression of CAC. In ESRD-patients progression of CAC can be halted by a non-calcium containing phosphate binder (sevelamer, S) but not CCPB. The present study was performed to assess the role of CCPB and S on the progression of CAC in patients with CKD not on dialysis (CKD-patients). Methods: Consecutive out-patients (stage 3-4 CKD), homogeneous for age, biochemical variables and baseline TCS (mean TCS:320-470 Agatston Units) were randomized to receive S (1600 mg/day) or CCPB (calcium carbonate, 2 gr/day) throughout the study (18 months). In prior study these doses did not cause suppression of PTH and/or hypercalcemia. Treated patients exhibiting hypercalcemia or suppression of PTH exit the study. Agents affecting mineral metabolism were not allowed. Serum calcium phosphorus, i-PTH, homocysteine, C-reactive protein, triglycerides, total cholesterol, high- and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol were measured every 3 months. Progression of CAC was assessed measuring total calcium score (TCS) by computed tomography. Scans were obtained at start (initial) and end of observation period (final). Data of patients treated with CCPB and S were compared with those of non-treated CKD-patients (Controls; C). Results: Seventy-six patients were enrolled in three groups: C=n.27; CCPB=n.22; S=n.27. Initial and final biochemical variables were unchanged but final TCS was significantly increased in three groups. TCS proceeded by 56% and 55% in patients treated with C and CCPB, respectively; and by 21% in those treated with S. Mean TCS and annualized progression were not different between patients treated with CCPB and C. No episodes of hypercalcemia were encountered. PTH remained unchanged. Patients free from CAC at the start remained non calcified at the end of the study. Conclusions: Progression of CAC is rapid in CKD-patients despite baseline normality of mineral metabolism parameters and not exogenous calcium load. Progression was greater in patients treated with CCPB and C but small in those treated with S. Study design and small number of patients did not allow to determine in which manner S contributed to the benefit on CAC progression. When prescription and reimbursement problem will be overcame, larger studies are mandatory to better establish the efficacy of S in reducing CAC progression and eventually morbidity and mortality in CKD-patients