Capital structure in family firms: the role of innovation activity and institutional investors

Purpose– There is still an ongoing debate on the value relevance of capital structure and its determinants. Recently the issue has been explored in family firms after being explored in mature firms. This paper investigates the role of institutional investors and the firm’s innovation activity in influencing the firm’s decision and ability to acquire debt capital. Design/methodology/approach– A large sample of 700 privately-held family firms in Italy from 2010 to 2019. Twoanalysis techniques are used: panel analysis and path analysis. The value of debt and the debt ratio are usedasleveragemeasures.Thevalueofpatent(asaproxyforinnovation)andinstitutionalinvestorarethe explanatory variables. Findings–Theresultsshowthatinstitutionalinvestorshavenorelationshipwithfinancialleveragemeasures except when controlling for an interaction variable (Institutional investors 3 Lombardy region). The patent value is positively correlated with debt; however, the ratio patent-to-asset is negatively related to financial leverage indicating higher risk exposure. The nonlinearity test demonstrates a turning point when the relationship between patent value and debt inverts. Practical implications– Firms should monitor their innovation activity since excessive innovation increases risk exposure and affects financing opportunities and value. The involvement of institutional investors does not always enhance value. Originality/value– Existing literature focuses separately on family firm innovations and financial leverage as outcome variables, emphasizing the role of institutional investors in both fields by adopting agency theory and socioemotional wealth framework. In this study, the authors go further by merging both relationships, investigating the dynamics of the institutional-family firm innovation relationship in influencing the firm’s capital structure. The authors contribute to the ongoing debate by providing original findings on capital structure, governance and innovation, supported by rigorous methods to enhance family firms’ decisionmaking

Dai distretti alle reti d'impresa:soluzioni chiave per lo sviluppo territoriale

Il processo di liberalizzazione degli scambi causato dalla progressiva apertura dei mercati ha avuto negli anni un impatto enorme sul contesto economico,cambiando le aree di riferimento per le imprese, per i territori e per i responsabili del loro governo. La logica di sviluppo territoriale è attualmente basata sul recupero di competitività delle imprese attraverso la sperimentazione di nuove forme di aggregazione e di diversi set-up del ciclo produttivo. Prerequisito per il successo di queste iniziative è l’individuazione di strumenti d’intervento che ne facilitino l’implementazione. Il presente contributo rappresenta il tentativo di arrivare a un’identificazione attualizzata di detti strumenti sulla base delle evidenze empiriche che è stato possibile riscontrare. Si è cercato in tale ottica di esplorare la realtà dei distretti e quella delle altre reti d’impresa, individuate come modalità di aggregazione complementari e integrative alle prime, con riferimento allo stato dell’arte dei metodi organizzativi già ampiamente sperimentati a livello locale,come i distretti agricoli o le altre forme di organizzazione nelle zone rurali del territorio italiano. L’analisi parte quindi da elementi teorici suffragati da una ricognizione sull’esperienza dei distretti, in particolare quelli agricoli, agroalimentari e rurali realizzatisi sul territorio italiano, per poi approfondire il variegato mondo delle reti d’impresa sia sotto il punto di vista organizzativo che contrattuale

IL BATTISTERO DEL DUOMO DI PISA: MOVIMENTI ED INDAGINI

La tesi consiste in una prima fase di ricerca storica per individuare le caratteristiche della struttura del Battistero e informazioni sui tempi della realizzazione. Una seconda fase di ricerca e analisi dei dati che riguardano la livellazione della Piazza, dei suoi movimenti e dati ottenuti da indagine geoelettrica. L'ultima fase consiste in una pianificazione di ulteriori indagini che risultano necessarie per completare lo studio del Battistero

Overtourism: A literature review to assess implications and future perspectives

Overtourism is an emerging concept facing the world's main tourist destinations. The growth that tourism has undergone in recent decades is of two different types. On the one hand, the development of new technologies and the creation of low-cost airline carriers have increased tourism levels, leading to growth even in emerging economies. On the other hand, uncontrolled demand alongside a concentration of tourism in particular destinations impact negatively both territories and local communities. The problems caused in some destinations by the increasing, ongoing growth in tourism have created the issue of "overtourism," which is assuming an increasing significance in the literature. This paper contributes to the literature by providing an exploratory study with which to better understand the origins of overtourism, its implications, and predicted future perspectives in respect to the issue. Examination of the new evidence presented here contributes to the expanding knowledge of particular problems of tourism development

Small ruminant Gongylonema pulchrum infection in the South West Algerian desert: prevalence of a sporadic zoonosis

Individual faecal samples were randomly collected from the rectum of goats (n = 120) and sheep (n = 182) bred in four distinct areas of the South West Algerian desert. All the samples were examined by faecal flotation technique. A range of gastro-intestinal parasites was recorded by microscopic examination. Special reference was given to potentially zoonotic nematodes. Typical G. pulchrum eggs were detected as mixed or single infections in 9.3% of the animals (15% of goats and 5.5% of sheep). Goats were statistically (OR=3.04 [1.35-6.83]) more likely to harbor G. pulchrum infections than sheep. Animals older than 1 year of age were more likely to be infected with G. pulchrum than younger ones, but these differences di not reach statistically significant values. Monitoring human infections represents an imperative need of modern society. Anyone working with sheep and goats or sharing the same environment with them and physicians should be aware of gongylonemiasis and other potentially zoonotic nematode infections due to ovicaprines, though considered not life-threatening, sporadic or neglected

Discrete Event Modeling and Simulation for IoT Efficient Design Combining WComp and DEVSimPy Framework

International audienceOne of today's challenges in the framework of ubiquitous computing concerns the design of ambient systems including sensors, smart-phones, interconnected objects, computers, etc. The major difficulty is to propose a compositional adaptation which aims to integrate new features that were not foreseen in the design, remove or exchange entities that are no longer available in a given context. In order to provide help to overcome this difficulty, a new approach based on the definition of strategies validated using discrete-event simulation is proposed. Such strategies make it possible to take into account conflicts and compositional adaptation of components in ambient systems. These are defined and validate using a discrete-event formalism to be integrated into a prototyping and dynamic execution environment for ambient intelligence applications. The proposed solution allows the designers of ambient systems to define the optimum matching of all components to each other. One pedagogical example is presented (switch-lamp system) as a proof of the proposed approach

Spatio-temporal variability in Mediterranean rocky shore microphytobenthos

Knowledge of spatio-temporal variability of assemblages is the first step in identifying key factors affecting the abundance and distribution of organisms. Despite a long history of ecological studies on rocky intertidal habitats, there is still a lack of basic knowledge about the microphytobenthic components. We investigated the spatio-temporal variability of microphytobenthos in the northwest Mediterranean at multiple scales, including both seasonal and daily observations, as well as its composition. Spatial variability of microphytobenthic biomass varied significantly with season, with an increase in small-scale variance from cold to warm periods. Furthermore, during warmer months, small-scale variances (tens to hundreds of centimeters) were larger than large-scale components (tens to thousands of meters). These results suggest large spatiotemporal variation in the processes driving variation in microphytobenthic assemblages, including interactive effects among stressful abiotic conditions, substratum topography and grazing. In addition, observed variability on a daily scale suggested that microphytobenthos at the study site (dominated by cyanobacteria) might cope with stressful environmental conditions through both physiological and behavioral strategies at micro-spatial scales, including small movements within the substratum. Additional research on ecological and physiological aspects of rocky shore microphytobenthos is needed to better understand its role within interaction webs and primary productivity processes

Dai distretti alle reti d’impresa: soluzioni chiave per lo sviluppo territoriale

The district concept has born with the need to overcome the conditions of insufficient competitiveness increasing production advantages and integrating the different phases of the production cycle in a geographical space. On the other hand, the fundamental principle of the network is the organized relationship between firms. The two models share the basis organization form (a net between different actors) but, unlike districts and consortia, the network exceeds the logic of territoriality district and hierarchical organization by introducing a new method of asset management. While the district will continue to be the territorial unit of reference, the network contract will have to join it in order to integrate the functionality

Multifractal spatial distribution of epilithic microphytobenthos on a Mediterranean rocky shore

Understanding how patterns and processes relate across spatial scales is one of the major goals in ecology. 1/f models have been applied mostly to time series of environmental and ecological variables, but they can also be used to analyse spatial patterns. Since 1/f noise may display scale-invariant behaviour, ecological phenomena whose spatial variability shows 1/f type scaling are susceptible to further characterization using fractals or multifractals. Here we use spectral analysis and multifractal techniques (generalized dimension spectrum) to investigate the spatial distribution of epilithic microphytobenthos (EMPB) on rocky intertidal surfaces. EMPB biomass was estimated from calibrated colour-infrared images that provided indirect measures of rock surface chlorophyll a concentration, along two 8-m and one 4-m long transects sampled in January and November 2012. Results highlighted a pattern of spectral coefficient close to or greater than one for EMPB biomass distribution and multifractal structures, that were consistent among transects, implying scale-invariance in the spatial distribution of EMPB. These outcomes can be interpreted as a result of the superimposition of several biotic and abiotic processes acting at multiple spatial scales. However, the scale-invariant nature of EMPB spatial patterns can also be considered a hallmark of self-organization, underlying the possible role of scale-dependent feedback in shaping EMPB biomass distribution.This work is part of a requirement for a PhD by MDB and was partially supported by the Univ. of Pisa and by the FP 7 EU project VECTORS “VECTORS of Change in Oceans and Seas Marine Life, Impact on Economic Sectors”. CS was supported by a postdoctoral grant from the Alfonso Martin Escudero Foundation from Spain

mRNA Vaccine for Alzheimer’s Disease: Pilot Study

The escalating global healthcare challenge posed by Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and compounded by the lack of effective treatments emphasizes the urgent need for innovative approaches to combat this devastating disease. Currently, passive and active immunotherapies remain the most promising strategy for AD. FDA-approved lecanemab significantly reduces Aβ aggregates from the brains of early AD patients administered biweekly with this humanized monoclonal antibody. Although the clinical benefits noted in these trials have been modest, researchers have emphasized the importance of preventive immunotherapy. Importantly, data from immunotherapy studies have shown that antibody concentrations in the periphery of vaccinated people should be sufficient for targeting Aβ in the CNS. To generate relatively high concentrations of antibodies in vaccinated people at risk of AD, we generated a universal vaccine platform, MultiTEP, and, based on it, developed a DNA vaccine, AV-1959D, targeting pathological Aβ, completed IND enabling studies, and initiated a Phase I clinical trial with early AD volunteers. Our current pilot study combined our advanced MultiTEP technology with a novel mRNA approach to develop an mRNA vaccine encapsulated in lipid-based nanoparticles (LNPs), AV-1959LR. Here, we report our initial findings on the immunogenicity of 1959LR in mice and non-human primates, comparing it with the immunogenicity of its DNA counterpart, AV-1959D