Development perspectives of relational capital in women-led firms

The purpose of the paper is to analyze the strategic role of relational capital for the achievement of sustainable development in Italian micro and small tourist businesses run by women. The paper focuses on the tourism enterprises because that sector constitute 10 % of the Italian GDP. The qualitative research methodology that has been used is that of case study research (Yin, 2009). Such process consisted in a survey with an ad-hoc questionnaire developed to analyze the distinctive features of a woman-owned micro and small enterprise that can be identified with the CAOS model (Paoloni, 2011). The paper applies the CAOS model examining the personal characteristics of the female entrepreneur (C); the environment in which the in SMEs operates (A); organizational and managerial aspects (O); and the motivations for manage a new business (S). This model is able to link these factors and classify different types of connections, it is possible to identify the kind of existing relations. The paper intends to help address a gap in the existing literature regarding the management and governance of tourism firms run by women. The paper can contribute to improving the competitiveness Italian enterprises studying how women entrepreneurs manage her business

Immigrant women’s entrepreneurship: is there a development model in Italy?

The aim of this paper is to verify if there is a typical enterprise model for the development of immigrant female entrepreneurship in Italy. Based on the literature on the subject, however, it is useful to ask the following research question: “can membership in a national and international network facilitate the development of immigrant female entrepreneurship operating in Italy”? The survey was carried out by submitting a questionnaire to a sample of immigrant women entrepreneurs in the textile and clothing sector based in Italy. The choice fell on this specific economic segment because it represents the third largest sector for the number of female immigrant entrepreneurs (2.271 units) which amounts to 16% of the total number of entrepreneurs operating in the same sector. The percentage of respondents was 35%, with 795 completed questionnaires. The structure of the questionnaire reflects the need to examine the personal features of female entrepreneurs, the organizational aspects and the style of leadership, the task environment in which the enterprise works and the main possible benefits, or obstacles, they might obtain, or face. In addition to the objective of enlarging the literature regarding the management and governance of businesses run by women entrepreneurs, that is quite limited to date, this paper is a contribution to the analysis of a possible development model of women entrepreneurs

Radiative Penguin and Leptonic Rare Decays at BaBar

Recent BaBar results on rare B decays involving flavour-changing neutral currents or purely leptonic final states are presented. New measurements of the CP asymmetries in B -> K* gamma, B -> K*2(1430) gamma, and b -> s gamma are reported, as well as a new measurement of the B -> K* gamma branching fraction. Also reported are updated limits on B -> mu nu and recent measurements of B -> K* l+ l- and b -> s l+ l-. The data sample comprises 123 10^6 Y4S -> B Bbar decays collected with the BaBar detector at the PEP-II e+e- storage ring.Comment: Contributed to the Proceedings of the Recontres de Moriond 2004: Electroweak Interactions and Unified Theorie

A path model “why-what-how-when” to Implement an IC reporting

The purpose of this paper is to present the results of an empirical study and the critical success factors for implementing Intellectual Capital (IC) reporting. Selecting an IC model to be implemented in a specific context at a particular time depends on several contingent factors. In light of this, we propose the following “why-what-how-when” agenda, which will be applied in the case study: 1. Why implement IC reporting in a specific context? 2. What IC approach/tool is suitable to satisfy users’ informational needs? 3. How is the quality of information? 4. When is information available? The research is qualitative and focused on a case study in order to understand the dynamics of a given process. The company analyzed designs and develops Large Systems for Homeland Protection. The analyzed case study shows that there isn’t “one best way” to report on intangibles. Thus, the main critical factors of the process investigated are the following: accurate identification of actors involved in the decision-making process; quality and availability of information. The case study allows us to analyze how changes in decision maker(s), users’ informational needs and information quality can impact the selection of the framework and its relative artifact/tool to be used to report on intangibles

Female-owned innovative startups in Italy: status quo and implications

The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of the current literature of this business phenomenon with regard to gender studies and to point out what is substantially happening and what has happened in the Italian economic context. The main research questions were RQ1: How is the phenomenon of female Startups treated from a scientific point of view? RQ2: Which is the Italian situation of this phenomenon? The methodology used is both qualitative and explorative. A bidirectional analysis has been carried out for this purpose. In order to expand the first research question (RQ1), an analysis was carried out of the articles in the EBSCO database on the topic of female startups. In order to expand the second question (RQ2), an analysis was carried out on the data concerning the phenomenon of female startups, using the register of companies held at the Chambers of Commerce which were territorially competent. Our research, carried out within the Italian economic context, demonstrates how the phenomenon of Woman Startups (WSU), even if it is widely expanding, is inherent in all the typical elements of female entrepreneurship, as reported in the literature by gender scholars. The main factors that emerge for the WSU are the small size and the undercapitalization in the startup phase. This work contributes to the expansion of studies on the topic of startups in the context of gender and can be useful to the social context, new entrepreneurs, and practitioners of the sector

Exploring the connection between relational capital and female entrepreneurs

.Among intangible assets of contemporary companies, relational capital (RC) is a relevant strategic asset as well as a dimension of intellectual capital. In this scenario, micro-enterprises are key drivers of economic growth, and woman entrepreneurs are key developers of these businesses. So, the purpose of this study is to carry out a literature review analyzing how RC contributes to the startup phase of women-owned micro-enterprises. Another purpose is to understand whether and to what extent the studies conducted so far have addressed some issues such as “How and why women entrepreneurs use relational capital? What are the main benefits they get using relational capital? What are the main obstacles they face?” A literature search on Scopus was conducted, using a set of selected keywords. Scopus was used since it has quality publications. Selected papers were analyzed and classified, in an attempt to identify the main topics and results obtained from the research and analysis carried out so far. The contribution of the present research is to make the international literature focus on the connection between gender studies and RC. Particularly, the literature review emphasizes the topic proposed as emerging issue, which gives us the opportunity to identify new trends and future directions of research. This paper aims to advance knowledge and practice in the area of gender and management, using RC based on empirical research, theoretical developments, practice and current issues. The main evidences are related to a better understanding of the debate on gender and relational capital, considering that female entrepreneurship is central to the development and welfare of economies. Deep knowledge on how women entrepreneurs manage business relation can contribute to improving the effectiveness policies that promote the participation of female entrepreneurs in the economy

Female entrepreneurship in perspective: a methodological issue

A methodological approach to the concept of female entrepreneurship concept has not yet been treated: is female entrepreneurship an individual or collective concept? Is it considered a social or natural variable? The purpose of this research is to clear up these alternatives, which are preparatory questions for any research into female entrepreneurship that wishes to measure its features and effects. The article starts with the proposal of an identification procedure, necessary to identifying the variables of female entrepreneurship. It proceeds by classifying the concept of female entrepreneurship into four different modes and discussing their characteristics. The originality of this research consists in its fourfold classification of the concept of female entrepreneurship, intended as a preparatory step prior to the analysis of its characteristics and measures

Competitiveness and sustainability in tourism industry: the "albergo diffuso" case study

The objective of the analysis developed in this paper is to verify whether the sustainability of the hotel ospitality model contributes to the competitiveness of tourist destinations. The research question is: does the model of “albergo diffuso” satisfy the requirement for a social, economic and environmental sustainability? The research method adopted consisted in a survey with the submission of a questionnaire to a number of alberghi diffusi operating worldwide, that is 130 units of analysis. The submission period went from October to December 2016. Through the questionnaire submitted to the interviewees it has been possible to analyze the motivation for the business start-up as well as the characteristics of the entrepreneur, the managerial systems and the governance style. The results will be analyzed through the application of the Weaver model (2014; 2017) which is considered essential to evaluate the contribution of the albergo diffuso to tourism sustainability. The implementation of the Weaver matrix to evaluate the contribution of the albergo diffuso to the sustainability of a tourist destination is the original element of the paper. The paper discusses the implications of sustainability with particular regards to the “albergo diffuso”. Therefore, it would be suitable to expand the analysis to additional models of tourist hospitality present in the international tourism scenario

Large-angle scattering of multi-GeV muons on thin Lead targets

The probability of large-angle scattering for multi-GeV muons in thin ($t/X_0 \sim 10^{-1}$) lead targets is studied. The new estimates presented here are based both on simulation programs (GEANT4 libraries) and theoretical calculations. In order to validate the results provided by simulation, a comparison is drawn with experimental data from the literature. This study is particularly relevant when applied to muons originating from $\nu_\mu^{CC}$ interactions of CNGS beam neutrinos. In that circumstance the process under study represents the main background for the $\nu_\mu \to \nu_\tau$ search in the $\tau \to \mu$ channel for the OPERA experiment at LNGS. Finally, we also investigate, in the CNGS context, possible contributions from the muon photo-nuclear process which might in principle also produce a large-angle muon scattering signature in the detector