Corporate governance and performance of Italian gambling SMEs during recession

Purpose: This study aims to explore how the economic recession and some corporate governance (CG) provisions can affect the performance of Italian gambling small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) across different business segments. Design/Methodology/approach: This study uses a panel sample of 2,135 observations before and during the global financial crisis. Specifically, the roles of ownership, boards of directors, CEO gender, and gambling business segments are investigated in the Italian gambling market. Findings: Ownership concentration has a negative relationship with the performance of foreigner- and financial-owned firms, while boards exert a positive role on performance. Interestingly, the financial crisis does not impact the performance of Italian gambling SMEs and some business segments, such as bingo, perform even better during the crisis. Research limitations/implications: Further investigations should analyze the role of single games on firm performance. The consumer- and firm-level examinations offer very different perspectives and scholars should be aware of this when investigating the gambling industry. Practical implications: This study might help both policymakers and other gambling firms, such as casinos, to better understand which appropriate CG model should be adopted and how it can positively influence performance, especially in recessionary times. Originality/value: This study contributes to studies on hospitality and tourism by focusing on the complementary role of gambling SMEs with respect to casinos. It also increases knowledge on the role of CG in privately owned gambling firms, which thus far has been scantly investigated by scholars

THE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE DRIVERS: WHAT RELATIONS WITH PERFORMANCE AND RISK? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM ITALIAN CONTEXT

Considering a sample of Italian firms and defining a good Governance index (gGI), we investigated if there is a relation between the gGI, the performance and the default risk and which governance determinants are most responsible of these effects. To deepen the analysis, the aforementioned relations are also observed by comparing family and non-family firms and the companies more or less active in M&A. We found that the Corporate Governance quality presents some correlations with performance and risk. The non-family companies are better structured, showing a positive correlation between some Corporate Governance drivers and performance and Z-score. Furthermore, the “well-advised” firms in external strategies are able to obtain a better correlation with performance and also a good relation with Z-scor

THE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE DRIVERS, PERFORMANCE AND RISK: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM ITALIAN CONTEXT

In this work we carried out an empirical research on a sample of 98 Italian companies continuously listed during 2005-2011, with the objective of deepening the analysis : we tried to verify the role played by the Corporate on performance and default risk, with the definition of an index of good Governance (scG); we tried to verify the variables of Corporate Governance that produce effects on performance and risk of default (Z-score and leverage); we tried to verify the difference of effects of Corporate governance Index on performance and risk for family business and for companies active in M&A; we conducted an analysis on a sample of Italian companies to measure Corporate Governance quality and to evaluate the relationship with the accounting and market performance and the effect on risk level. We find that The Corporate Governance quality presents some correlation with performance and risk parameters. The non family companies are better structured. They show a positive correlation between some Corporate Governance drivers and performance and Z-score. We can observe that le “well-advised” firms in external strategies are able to obtain a better correlation with performance and also a good relation with Z-score

Life Cycle Consumption and the Great Recession

Using Italian Household Budget Survey data for the period 1997-2013, this paper estimates the life cycle profiles of consumption and cross-sectional variance in the Great Recession. The study examines age profiles for total and durable expenditure, and four subcomponents of non-durable expenditure. We document significant heterogeneity in the way the recession affects consumption and the variance within-cohorts. The crisis has entailed a fall in expenditure for the youngest cohorts, and a notable reduction of inequalities for the middle and oldest cohorts with some differences between high and low income elastic expenditure. We also found that socio-demographic factors account for a substantial heterogeneity in consumption behaviour during the recession across households and expenditure subcomponents

DIVERSIFIED, INTEGRATED AND CROSS-BORDER ACQUISITIONS AND FIRM PERFORMANCE: A COMPARISON OF FAMILY AND NON-FAMILY ITALIAN LISTED FIRMS

In family firms, the principal-agent relationship and the steward role of family managers are determinants for external growth and acquisition target selection. In fact, some acquisitions are better for the family‟s need for risk reduction and company preservation. We aim to verify if family involvement in ownership and management influences firms‟ acquisition propensity, type of strategy, and post-deal performance. We develop an empirical analysis for a sample of 141 Italian listed companies during 2005–2011, which includes the global financial crisis. Our results reveal that Italian listed family firms have lower acquisition propensity than non-family firms because of family involvement in ownership and executive committees. Especially, diversifying strategies are less pursued by family firms, and this is corroborated when family ownership increases. However, while family firms do not differ from non-family firms on post-acquisition performance, a moderating role of family firms and family ownership does exist for diversified acquisitions and performance

Effect of a novel nutraceutical combination on serum lipoprotein functional profile and circulating PCSK9

BACKGROUND: A beneficial effect on cardiovascular risk may be obtained by improving lipid-related serum lipoprotein functions such as high-density lipoproteins (HDLs) cholesterol efflux capacity (CEC) and serum cholesterol loading capacity (CLC) and by reducing proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin type 9 (PCSK9), independently of lipoprotein concentrations. AIM: We aimed to evaluate the effect of an innovative nutraceutical (NUT) combination containing red yeast rice (monacolin K 3.3 mg), berberine 531.25 mg and leaf extract of Morus alba 200 mg (LopiGLIK®), on HDL-CEC, serum CLC and on circulating PCSK9 levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty three dyslipidemic subjects were treated for 4 weeks with the above NUT combination. HDL-CEC was measured using specific cell-based radioisotopic assays; serum CLC and PCSK9 concentrations were measured fluorimetrically and by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. RESULTS: The NUT combination significantly reduced plasma level of the total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (-9.8% and -12.6%, respectively). Despite no changes in HDL-cholesterol, the NUT combination improved total HDL-CEC in 83% of the patients, by an average of 16%, as a consequence of the increase mainly of the ATP-binding cassette A1-mediated CEC (+28.5%). The NUT combination significantly reduced serum CLC (-11.4%) while it did not change PCSK9 plasma levels (312.9±69.4 ng/mL vs 334.8±103.5 mg/L, before and after treatment, respectively). CONCLUSION: The present NUT combination improves the serum lipoprotein functional profile providing complementary beneficial effects, without any detrimental increase of PCSK9 plasma levels

A static analysis for Brane Calculi providing global occurrence counting information

In this paper we propose a static analysis for Brane Calculi [1], based on Abstract Interpretation [2] techniques. Our analysis statically approximates the dynamic behaviour of Brane systems, by providing a description of the possible hierarchical structure of membranes and of the processes possibly associated to each membrane, together with global occurrence counting information. Our analysis can be computed in polynomial time. We apply it to investigate several biological systems in which occurrence counting information plays a crucial role. In particular, our case study concerns the formation of the haemoglobin polymer in presence of alterations and investigate the influence that such alterations have on the ability of the haemoglobin polymer to bind oxygen molecules