Code of Conduct and Corporate Governance

The purpose of the paper is to examine the code of conduct as a corporate governance communication tool. Drawing on the description of corporate conduct code, an analysis has been conducted on the first one hundred US companies (classified by Fortune Magazine), to verify the importance that global companies attribute to the corporate governance communication. Findings indicate that in the 58% of the cases a code exists and it is usually incorporated into the corporate governance communications.Corporate Governance, Corporate Governance Communication, Conduct Code, Ethics

Market-Driven Management, Global Competition and Corporate Responsibility

The aim of the paper is to define the role of corporate responsibility in sustainable development of global firms. To be successful, global firms must be on the alert of emerging environmental trends and do their best to improve the corporate performance in line with key stakeholder expectations. In this respect, the management of corporate social responsibility highlights the criticality of the corporate intangible assets system and the need for overall assessment of corporate performance - not only financial performance but social too.Market-Driven Management; Corporate Responsibility; Corporate Social Responsibility; Intangible Assets; Global Markets

A Multivariate Approach to Facebook Data for Marketing Communication

[EN] The aim of this paper is to propose a method to explore and synthesize social media data in order to aid businesses to make their communication decisions. The research was conducted at the end of 2014 on 5607 Italian Facebook subjects interested in drugs and health. In this study, we refer to the pharmaceutical market that is characterized by strict legal constraints, which prevent any promotional activities (such as advertising) of companies on prescription drugs. Thus, pharmaceutical businesses tend to promote their corporate brand instead of a single product brand. In such context, social media offer the opportunity to gather customers’ information about their attitudes and preferences, helpful to address marketing activities. Through a multivariate statistical approach on Facebook data, we have highlighted the associations existing between TV channels and users’ profiles. Therefore, depending on the value proposition to promote, every business could choose, first, the target group to reach and, then, the nearest suitable channel where to develop the corporate brand communication.Arrigo, E.; Liberati, C.; Mariani, P. (2016). A Multivariate Approach to Facebook Data for Marketing Communication. En CARMA 2016: 1st International Conference on Advanced Research Methods in Analytics. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 66-74. https://doi.org/10.4995/CARMA2016.2016.2974OCS667

Sustainability in Fashion Brands

This preview article introduces the Special Issue on "Sustainability in Fashion Brands" and presents a summary of the research. This editorial will highlight the contents and methodologies of selected papers, presenting diverse issues in sustainable fashion strategies and management. The authors conclude with a special thank you to the authors, reviewers, and the editor-in-chief for their roles in the preparation of the special issue

Short-Term Effect of a New Oral Sodium Hyaluronate Formulation on Knee Osteoarthritis: A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial

Objective: the aim of this pilot study was to test the short-term effect of oral supplementation with a sodium hyaluronate with a large spectrum of molecular weights (FS-HA®) on the symptoms and functionality of knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods: 60 subjects affected by clinical and/or radiological diagnosis of symptomatic knee OA were consecutively enrolled in a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial. At randomization visit, at day 28 (visit 2), and day 56 (visit 3), the Western Ontario McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), the Lequesne Functional Index (LFI) and the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain (VAS-p) were administered to the enrolled patients. Then, patients were asked how many times they used rescue medications (non-steroidal antinflammatory drugs–NSAIDs and/or anti-pain drugs) during the previous 4 weeks. Finally, the range of knee joint motion (ROM) was also instrumentally measured. Results: In FS-HA® treated subjects, VAS-p, pain and total WOMAC score, LFI and ROM significantly improved compared to the baseline values (p < 0.05). At 60 days, the VAS-p and the pain WOMAC score were significantly lower after FS-HA® treatment when compared with placebo as well (p < 0.05). The FS-HA® treated subjects significantly reduced the weekly use of NSAIDs and/or antipain drugs when compared to the placebo-treated ones (p < 0.05). Conclusion: the oral supplementation with a FS-HA® characterized by a large spectrum of molecular weight was associated with a short-term improvement in symptomatology and functionality of osteoarthritis-affected knees, and associated with a reduction in the use of NSAIDS and anti-pain drugs

Arterial stiffness, sugar-sweetened beverages and fruits intake in a rural population sample: Data from the brisighella heart study

Introduction: There is conflicting information linking fruit and fructose intake with cardio metabolic disorders. The main objective of our study was to evaluate the association between intake of fruits and sugar-sweetened beverages, and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), a non-invasive marker of arterial aging, in a large population sample. Methods: For this study, we selected four age and sex-matched subgroups from the last Brisighella Heart Study population survey, after exclusion of those in secondary prevention for cardiovascular diseases, affected by gout and moderate-to-severe chronic kidney disease (defined as eGFR &lt; 60 mL/min), and/or actively treated with direct vasodilating drugs (calcium-antagonists, alpha-blockers, nitrates). The remaining subjects were classified into four groups: (1) low fruit and low sugar-sweetened beverage intake (LFLB), (2) high fruit and low sugar-sweetened beverage intake (HFLB), (3) low fruit and high sugar-sweetened beverage intake (LFHB), (4) high fruit and high sugar-sweetened beverage intake (HFHB). Results: CfPWV was significantly elevated in subjects consuming a higher fructose load, particularly when it was derived from industrially sweetened beverages (pooled LFHB &amp; HFHB: 9.6 ± 2.3 m/s; pooled LFLB &amp; HFLB: 8.6 ± 2.3 m/s, p &lt; 0.001). Moreover, the main predictors of cfPWV values were serum uric acid (B = 0.391, 95%CI 0.321–0.486, p = 0.001), fructose load from both fruits and sugar-sweetened beverages (B = 0.310, 95%CI 0.099–0.522, p = 0.004), triglycerides (B = 0.228, 95%CI 0.117–0.389, p = 0.018), fasting plasma glucose (B = 0.015, 95%CI 0.008–0.022, p &lt; 0.001) and estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (B = −0.043, 95%CI −0.052–−0.035, p &lt; 0.001). Conclusion: our data suggest that increased intake of fructose derived from industrial sweetened beverages, though not from fruits, is associated with higher pulse wave velocity