La storia della ragioneria e la storia socio-politica. (Accounting history and socio-political history).

Este artículo se propone analizar la relación existente entre el estudio histórico de los registros contables y la investigación de los hechos históricos de índole social y político contemplados en estos registros. La documentación primaria que puede encontrarse en los registros contables puede contribuir, a menudo de forma determinante, a completar la descripción e interpretación de los hechos históricos, confiriendo mayor objetividad y precisión a la investigación histórica en sí. Pues, en efecto, el historiador de la contabilidad investiga y explica no sólo la significación económica que se desprende del hallazgo y análisis de documentos, relacionados o no con la contabilidad, sino también las conexiones entre esta significación y otros elementos históricos presentes, tanto en la historia económica, como en la historia del arte, en la historia social y política de un Estado o de un espacio territorial, así como en las relaciones entre familias e individuos, o estrictamente personales, en los cambios geográficos, en desarrollos arquitectónicos, etc. This paper attempts to examine the relationship existing between the historic study of accounting entries and the investigation of historical facts of a social and political nature emerging from such entries. The primary documentation which may be found among the accounting registers may contribute, often in a determinant manner, to completing the description and interpretation of historical facts, lending increased objectivity and precision to historical research per se. The Accounting historian find him/herself investigating and explaining not only the economic significance that emerges from the gathering and the analysis of documents (whether accounting-related or not), but also the connection between this meaning and the other topics of a historical character present in economic history, in art history, in social and political events of any State or territorial area, in the relationship between families and single individuals, as well as strictly personal ones, in geographical changes, in architecture.Historia de la contabilidad, practicas contables de la Edad Media, estudios de historia política. Accounting History, Medieval Book-keeping Method, Political History studies.

Does Knowledge Management enhance Decision-Making speed?

Every manager has to make daily decisions the efficacy of which will affect firm performance and so decision-making (DM) and problem-solving (PS) are very important skills able to make the difference between the success and the failure of a firm. At the same time markets have reached such a level of complexity that uncertainty and risk connected to decisions are higher than ever before while market turbulence forces firms to make faster and faster decisions in order to quickly adapt to the changing environment. For this reason time and knowledge are strictly connected resources. Speedy decisions in fact allow firms to adopt new technology or to take advantage of new market opportunities before competitors do so. According to several scholars knowledge management (KM) seems very useful to improve DM and PS processes. However, to date, few studies have investigated the impact that KM practices have on decision speed and efficacy. Therefore the present paper aims to empirically prove the impact that KM has on the organizational decision-making process and how this, in turn, impacts on firm performance. We collected survey data from 113 leading Italian companies and tested the structural model with Partial Least Square (PLS) method. Results, suggest that some KM practices significantly impact on the firm's ability to make speedy and effective decisions and also on firm performance. A very interesting result is the fact that the firm's ability to make speedy and effective decisions does not impact on firm performance. The main limitations of the present paper concern the fact that it has not been possible to stratify problem solving skills by hierarchical levels (i.e., strategic, tactical, operational) and the generalizability of results, considering that the data was collected from one single European country

Business continuity and planning effectiveness: An empirical analysis of Italian manufacturing SMEs

For decades many researchers have studied companies’ crisis and insolvency forecasting based on economic and financial indexes. However, little attention has been devoted to companies’ organisational structure in setting up favourable conditions in which firms can continue their activities without having to initiate an alert procedure as well as effectively achieve the objectivesforecasted. This is even more important when considering the introduction of Legislative Decree N. 14/2019, which underlines the importance of implementing a structure suitable for guaranteeing a company’s development. This study aims to investigate whether organisational, administrative and accounting structures affect business continuity and planning effectiveness. To this end, the study has adopted a quantitative approach. This paper provides insights into a new management control approach. SMEs should adopt a more structured management approach, driven by an effective company information system able to timely detect the emergence of a crisis and the uncertainty of business continuity

La contabilità pubblica nelle Signorie e nei Comuni italiani a cavallo tra XIV e XV secolo. Il caso della Signoria Malatestiana.

Il lavoro pone l’accento sull’importanza degli studi sulle fonti primarie di tipo amministrativo-contabile risalenti al periodo tardo medievale (secoli XIV e XV) presenti in numerosi archivi storici pubblici o privati e riferite alle amministrazioni pubbliche, di grande rilevanza per la conoscenza storica delle condizioni socioeconomiche di interi territori; delle relazioni di potere tra Comuni, Signorie o tra entrambi; dell’organizzazione interna (centrale e periferica) delle strutture comunali e delle Signorie (o Stati); della vita delle compagnie d’armi e delle campagne militari; delle turbolenze e guerre civili; degli ordinamenti fiscali o finanze statali. La ricerca sui libri contabili che compongono i Codici Malatestiani nell’Archivio di Stato di Fano consente di porre a confronto le amministrazioni di due sedi territoriali del dominio malatestiano (Brescia e Fano) e di ricostruire il complesso sistema di relazioni sia tra le strutture amministrative centrali e periferiche del governo signorile, sia tra i vari livelli di contabilità presenti nel sistema contabile, da quelle più sintetiche e pluriennali fino a quelle più elementari legate a forme di contabilità preparatoria o speciale

Ricerche archivistiche di contabilità e conoscenza della storia

Si sottolinea l'importanza degli studi archivistici di contabilità per la conoscenza storica e vengono forniti alcuni suggerimenti per un nuovo impulso negli studi di Accounting History: cambiamenti nel modo di far ricerca sulle fonti storiche, privilegiando un approccio interdisciplinare e coinvolgendo studiosi di discipline diverse; cambiamenti nella formazione degli studiosi di questa disciplina

La storia della ragioneria e la storia socio-politica

This paper attempts to examine the relationship existing between the historic study of accounting entries and the investigation of historical facts of a social and political nature emerging from such entries. The primary documentation which may be found among the accounting registers may contribute, often in a determinant manner, to completing the description and interpretation of historical facts, lending increased objectivity and precision to historical research per se. The Accounting historian find him/herself investigating and explaining not only the economic significance that emerges from the gathering and the analysis of documents (whether accounting-related or not), but also the connection between this meaning and the other topics of a historical character present in economic history, in art history, in social and political events of any State or territorial area, in the relationship between families and single individuals, as well as strictly personal ones, in geographical changes, in architecture, etc.The richness of accounting books, documents and administrative acts, present in the italian archives and libraries, going back to the medieval times (from the 13th century), support this type of research, from which it’s possible to obtain a large amount of information concerning, for example: the political power and the power relations between cities or the diverse dominions, the citizens and other organism; the judicial, administrative and tax codes of the States and public entities; the organization of the structures of Communes and States; the armed companies, the military campaigns, the nature of the dominations of States over single territories; the development of commercial activities and maritime journeys.The paper refers particularly to some accounting registers from the beginning of the 15th century that belong to the 113 Malatesta Code series present in the Historical Archives of the central Italian city of Fano.These accounting books was produced by the administration of Malatasta family, during the course of the Pandolfo III Malatesti dominion over the cities of Brescia and Bergamo, between the period 1405-1421. Their importance, recognized in 2002 by Carlo Antinori, is enormous for all the historians: for those that are studying Accounting History there is the opportunity to search into the formal aspects and the accounting methodology of the registers, drawn up with a Tabular Lombard-type method (with two sections “Dare” or Debits and “Avere” or Credits, on either side of the same page), typical layout of the accounting systems in the 14th -15th centuries; and for those that are studying Socio-Political History there is the opportunity to obtain a large amount ofinformation concerning: the general structure of the noble court of Pandolfo III Malatesti; the political model enacted in the administration over the cities of Brescia, Bergamo, Lecco and their surrounding territory; the organizational model of the complex bureaucratic apparatus of the chancellery and treasury; the military organizational structure (and relative high expenses); and generally the court life and the identity of the artists, artisans, medical doctor and others present on the payrolls of the noble Lord they served.In the final part of the paper are reported two specific examples of the contribution that accounting entries may make to historic investigations in the socio-political field: the considerable loan received by Pandolfo from the Republic of Venice in September 1409 and the conquest (or better, purchase) of the city ofBergamo in June 1408.Questo articolo si propone di analizzare il rapporto tra lo studio storico dei documenti contabili e l'indagine dei fatti storici sociali e politici contenuti in questi documenti. La documentazione primaria che si trova nei registri contabili può contribuire, spesso in modo decisivo, a completare la descrizione e l'interpretazione dei fatti storici.La documentazione primaria che si trova nei registri contabili può contribuire, spesso in modo decisivo, a completare la descrizione e l'interpretazione dei fatti storici, conferendo maggiore obiettività e precisione alla ricerca storica stessa. Lo storico della contabilità, infatti, indaga e spiega non solo il significato economico che emerge dalla scoperta e dall'analisi dei documenti, siano essi legati o meno alla contabilità, ma anche le connessioni tra questo significato e altri elementi storici presenti nella storia economica, nella storia dell'arte, nella storia sociale e politica di uno Stato o di uno spazio territoriale, nelle relazioni tra famiglie e individui, nelle relazioni strettamente personali, nei cambiamenti geografici, negli sviluppi architettonici, nella storia della storia dello Stato e nella storia dello Stato.cambiamenti geografici, sviluppi architettonici, ecc.La grande ricchezza di libri contabili, documentazione e scritture amministrative negli archivi e nelle biblioteche italiane, risalenti al Medioevo (fino al XIII secolo), rende possibile questo tipo di ricerca. Da essi si possono ricavare molte informazioni, riguardanti, ad esempio, i poteri politici e i rapporti di forza tra le varie città e domini signorili, i cittadini e altri enti; i codici di comportamento giudiziario, amministrativo e fiscale degli Stati e degli enti pubblici; l'organizzazione e le strutture delle Comunità e degli Stati; le forze armate, le campagne militari, la natura del dominio degli Stati su determinati territori; lo sviluppo delle attività commerciali e dei viaggi marittimi.viaggio marittimo.In particolare, questo articolo tratta di alcuni libri contabili del primo Quattrocento appartenenti alla serie dei 113 codici malatestiani conservati nell'Archivio Storico della città di Fano, nell'Italia centrale. Questi libri contabili furono tenuti dall'amministrazione pubblica dei Malatesta negli anni 1405-1421, quando la famiglia Malatesta era al potere.1405-1421, quando Pandolfo III Malatesta governava le città di Brescia e Bergamo. La loro importanza, riconosciuta da Carlo Antinori, è enorme per tutti i tipi di storici: per chi studia la storia della contabilità, rappresentano l'opportunità di esaminare gli aspetti formali e la metodologia contabile dei registri, formulati sotto forma di unmetodologia contabile dei registri, formulata secondo il modello tabellare lombardo (con due sezioni, una a debito e una a credito, su entrambi i lati della stessa pagina), forma tipica adottata dai registri contabili del XIV e XV secolo; per chi studia la storia politica e sociale rappresentano l'occasione perottenere abbondanti informazioni sul modello politico instaurato nell'amministrazione delle città di Brescia, Bergamo, Lecco e dei territori adiacenti; sul modello organizzativo del complesso apparato burocratico della Cancelleria e della Tesoreria; sulla struttura organizzativa dell'apparato militare, con il suo volume di spesa relativamente elevato; sulla vita di Corte in generale, nonché sull'identità di artisti, artigiani, medici e altre persone presenti nei libri paga del Signore che servivano.L'ultima sezione dell'articolo offre due esempi del contributo che i documenti contabili possono dare alla ricerca storica in campo socio-politico: l'importante prestito ricevuto da Pandolfo dalla Repubblica di Venezia nel settembre 1409 e la conquista, o meglio l'acquisto, della città di Bergamo nel giugno 1408. &nbsp

The Penetration of Business Information Systems in Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in Italy and Hungary: A Comparative Study

Information technology (IT) has become an integral part of an enterprise’s organizational life recently and represents an increasingly important factor for all kinds of organizations, since the services it provides have become almost essential by now for all types of enterprises in the European Union. However, company size and differences at country level might still play an important role in hindering IT adoption. The main reason for writing this article was to analyse IT penetration and usage in Italy and Hungary and find a well-grounded answer to the question of whether IT – in the form of business information systems – is regarded as a source of competitive edge or an essential condition for survival by different enterprises in different countries. To explore this topic, a survey was conducted by submitting an online questionnaire to a sample of Italian and Hungarian enterprises. The results indicate a noticeable difference in the IT development level of the two countries. In Italy information systems in general and systems for managers decision-making are more widespread, thus IT has already reached the level of an essential condition for survival there, whereas it is still seen as a source of competitive edge in Hungary. However, contrary to our initial assumption, the question of competitive edge versus condition for survival depends more on size categories rather than on individual countries

Local relationships matter! The impact of intellectual capital on entrepreneurial bricolage in African social entrepreneurs

Social entrepreneurs aim to create societal value while pursuing financial sustainability. However, they typically face several challenges and constraints when operating in resource-scarce environments. For this reason, social entrepreneurs typically engage in entrepreneurial bricolage, which is described as a process of using whatever tools and resources necessary that are immediately available. The behavioral theory of entrepreneurial bricolage attempts to understand what entrepreneurs do when faced with resource constraints. In this vital process, little empirical research has been conducted to investigate what drives social entrepreneurs to engage in such a way. This study aims to understand the antecedents of bricolage and, in particular, empirically test its link to intellectual capital. A survey was administered to 115 social entrepreneurs from Ghana and Sierra Leone. Data analysis shows that relational capital plays a crucial role in driving social entrepreneurs to engage with bricolage. In fact, the quality of local relationships and external support received (by suppliers, customers, and communities) is positively related and statistically significant with entrepreneurial bricolage. The results of this study not only extend the academic literature of bricolage in social entrepreneurship but also point out the focal role of relational capital as an enabler toward effectively operating in difficult conditions in developing African countries. We thus provide theoretical implications to the field of social entrepreneurship through the lens of intellectual capital and knowledge management. Practical implications are provided to social entrepreneurs operating in developing countries, such as government, NGOs, and agencies seeking to support entrepreneurship initiatives. Limitations and future research opportunities are suggested as well

Engaging symbiotic ecosystems to build community centred business models for the BoP: Evidence from small social enterprises in East Africa

This article examines how small social enterprises (SSEs) in East Africa build business models for base of the pyramid (BoP) markets, through engaging symbiotic ecosystems. Through in-depth qualitative research, a three-stage process is identified. First, SSEs learn and become sensitised to the manifold challenges of building business models for BoP markets. Second, SSEs identify and connect with key BoP actors, weaving them together to create a symbiotic ecosystem and to overcome the aforementioned challenges. Third, SSEs harness this symbiotic ecosystem to deliver community-centred business models for the BoP. This research contributes to social entrepreneurship, small business, and BoP literatures, by shedding light on the challenges faced by SSEs working in the BoP, and through novel elaboration of how SSEs develop and interact with symbiotic ecosystems to surmount these challenges. It also provides important practical insights, for social entrepreneurs and social enterprise managers in Africa and elsewhere

I sistemi informativi automatizzati a supporto dei processi di direzione aziendale. Ancora un ritardo cronico per le piccole imprese?

Il lavoro esamina i sistemi informativi automatizzati funzionali al supporto delle attività di pianificazione e controllo, allo scopo di verificare se aziende di dimensione diversa registrano tassi di adozione differenti. Inoltre, particolare attenzione viene dedicata alla percezione dei potenziali benefici derivanti dall’adozione di tali sistemi. I risultati confermano la tendenza delle piccole imprese ad utilizzare i sistemi informativi automatizzati soprattutto a livello operativo e poco a sostegno della formulazione delle strategie