The Italian Chamber of Lords Sits on Listed Company Boards: An Empirical Analysis of Italian Listed Company Boards from 1998 to 2006

The purpose of the present paper is to contribute to the literature on country interlocks by illustrating and analysing the interlocking directorships in the Italian listed companies from 1998 to 2006. We find that over the entire period a high percentage of the Italian listed companies are connected with each other through a very small minority of directors. Such group of interlocking (overwhelmingly male) directors shows a remarkable stability over time with very few entrants and very few exits mainly related to the passing away of the director. We define them for brevity the Lords of the Italian stockmarket. Lords tend to belong to families of directors, with the first five families having more than 100 directorships in nine years. The highest level of connectivity concerns those companies that belong to the MIB 30/S&P-MIB 40 index, the Italian Blue Chips. In particular, practically all the financial Blue Chips are connected with each other through a web of directors continuously from 1998 to 2006. The extent, depth, and stability of the connections among the Italian listed companies, and in particular the main Italian financial companies, raise doubts on the extent of their competitive behaviour.corporate governance, interlocking directorships, board turnover, antitrust, competition, social network analysis (SNA), exploratory data analysis (EDA), empirical corporate finance

HOW INDEPENDENT ARE INDEPENDENT DIRECTORS? THE CASE OF ITALY

In this article, we provide an interpretation for the voluntary independence requirements contained in the Italian Corporate Governance Code (Preda Code) checking them against a proxy for international best practice, the independence criteria provided in the EC Recommendation on non-executive and supervisory directors of 2005. We then check to what extent company disclosure for 2003 allows the verification of the independence of directors qualified as independent by the Italian 40 blue chips. We find that the Preda Code (currently under revision) should be updated in several respects in order to make it abreast with best practice in the European Union. We also find that for two key independence requirements (not to have business relationships with the company and not to have too many concurrent commitments outside of the company) the level of compliance is dramatically low (4% and 16% respectively). Overall, for only 5 out of the 284 directors declared as independent by the Italian blue chips is it possible to verify the respect of all the Italian independence standards (and for only 4 directors with respect to the EC standards). This raises the problem of who should monitor what listed companies declare.Independent directors, Corporate governance,

Who cares about Director Independence?

In this article we have expanded the analysis of the new dataset we created in Santella, Paone, Drago (2005) which analysed and quantified corporate disclosure on directors formally identified as independent by the forty Italian Blue Chips. We find here a general low level of compliance with independence requirements for both financial and non-financial companies, particularly with regard to the two key independence criteria of not having too many concurring commitments and not having business relationships with the company or an associated company. We also find that financial companies show a lower level of compliance than non-financial ones and are connected with each other and with a few non-financial companies through networks of cross-directorships: two directors (one independent and one executive) who also sit at the same time on another company board. Finally, those non-financial companies that have a relatively fragmented shareholder structure tend to be characterised by higher levels of compliance and disclosure (but not always by lower levels of not compliance) than tightly-controlled non-financial companies, presumably because of sensitivity to a larger pool of small shareholders. Peculiarly, financial companies with fragmented shareholder structure tend to be characterised by low disclosure levels, although such companies are also subject to strong financial supervision.corporate governance; independent directors; interlocking directorships; empirical legal studies

How Independent are Independent Directors? The Case of Italy

In this article, we provide an interpretation for the voluntary independence requirements contained in the Italian Corporate Governance Code (Preda Code) checking them against a proxy for international best practice, the independence criteria provided in the EC Recommendation on non-executive and supervisory directors of 2005. We then check to what extent company disclosure for 2003 allows the verification of the independence of directors qualified as independent by the Italian 40 blue chips. We find that the Preda Code (currently under revision) should be updated in several respects in order to make it abreast with best practice in the European Union. We also find that for two key independence requirements (not to have business relationships with the company and not to have too many concurrent commitments outside of the company) the level of compliance is dramatically low (4% and 16% respectively). Overall, for only 5 out of the 284 directors declared as independent by the Italian blue chips is it possible to verify the respect of all the Italian independence standards (and for only 4 directors with respect to the EC standards). This raises the problem of who should monitor what listed companies declare.Independent directors, Corporate governance

The Department of Defense Transition Assistance Program: Servicemember Transition and Reintegration

The Department of Defense (DoD) Transition Assistance Program (TAP) was established by the U.S. federal government to support the transition and reintegration of service members into civilian communities upon discharge or retirement. The problem is that the actual success or failure of the TAP to facilitate that transition is not clearly understood. This quantitative study explored the relationships between former servicemembers who participated in TAP and participation success evaluating program outcomes. Mohr’s program theory served as the interpretive lens. Two research questions explored program aspects: (a) What is the individual likelihood that the Individual Development Plan (IDP) and Individual Transition Plan (ITP) process used for servicemember transition and reintegration predicts DoD TAP success and (b) What is the individual likelihood that the academic transition and reintegration process predicts DoD TAP success. A nonexperimental, binary logistic regression using bootstrap sampling was used to conduct the data analyses with 26 student veterans from 3 academic institutions. Key findings illustrated that IDP and ITP did not demonstrate a significant relationship between their use and program success; however, veteran participation in the program’s education track did demonstrate a significant relationship between track participation and program success Acceptance (OR = 9.6, p = .002, CI [-11.295, -9.797]); Application (OR = 32.0, p = .002, CI [31.111, 32.609]). Social change can be supported through focus on continual program improvements such as periodic IDP/ITP reviews, education track reviews, and multiple track attendance in order to enhance servicemember transition and reintegration while maintaining an economically justifiable program to the U.S. taxpayer

The Impact of Core Self Evaluation on Entrepreneurial Transition and Financing

1Dottorato di Ricerca in Management (XXV ciclo), LUISS Guido Carli, Roma, 2013. Relatori: Prof. Riccardo Fini, Prof. Raffaele Oriani.openEssay 1: The impact of CSE on entrepreneurial transition. Essay 2: The impact of CSE on entrepreneurial financial capital.openDottorato di Ricerca in ManagementSantella, RosellaSantella, Rosell

A Comparison among the director networks in the main listed companies in France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the literature on director interlocks by illustrating and analysing the interlocking directorships among the Italian, French, German, UK and US listed Blue Chips. The comparison of the five countries considered shows that two national models stand out. On the one hand a model made of a high number of companies linked to each other through a small number of shared directors who serve on several company boards at the time (France, Germany, and Italy). On the other hand, in the UK much fewer companies are connected to each other essentially through directors who have no more than two board positions at the time. A case in between is represented by the US, where a high number of companies are connected to each other just like Germany, France, and Italy. However, just like the UK, such connections are made through directors who tend to have just two board positions at the time, a sign that, differently from Italy, Germany, and France, the UK and US networks might not be functional to systemic collusion.corporate governance, interlocking directorships, antitrust, competition, social network analysis (SNA), exploratory data analysis (EDA), empirical corporate finance

Data, Theory and Politics

En este artículo, se responde a una reseña publicada en el número 25 de esta revista de Ianina Harari y Julia Egan al libro Sindicatos y desocupados en Argentina. 1930/1935- 1994/2004. Cinco estudios de caso, compilado por Nicolás Iñigo Carrera en el cual el autor tiene un artículo sobre las políticas del sindicato automotriz para enfrentar los despidos durante el periodo de crisis de 1998 a 2002. La discusión gira en torno a la efectividad de la misma y al carácter de la llamada burocracia sindical.This paper is a response to a review published in the 25 issue by Ianina Harari and Julia Egan of the book Sindicatos y desocupados en Argentina. 1930/1935-1994/2004. Cinco estudios de caso edited by Nicolás Iñigo Carrera in which the autor of this paper has an article about the politicies of the autoworkers unión facing the layoffs during the 1998-2002 crisis. The debate is about its effectiveness and the union bureaucracy problema.Fil: Santella Aristizabal, Agustin. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Investigaciones "Gino Germani"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

¿Qué son los sindicatos en la teoría marxista?

Los conceptos fundamentales de la teoría social marxista permiten dar cuenta de la dinámica sindical contemporánea. Sin embargo la institucionalización del conflicto laboral presenta para los marxistas el problema de la naturaleza de la acción sindical. Estos procesos contradicen la visión de los sindicatos como organización natural de la clase obrera en su evolución hacia la movilización revolucionaria. ¿Qué son los sindicatos? En este artículo seguimos esta discusión en tres marxistas fundamentales: Engels, Trotsky y Gramsci. Comparamos las respuestas que pueden obtenerse de estas fuentes históricas y teóricas. Para la construcción de este artículo partimos de la sugerencia clásica de Richard Hyman sobre perspectivas socialistas optimistas y pesimistas. Aquí intentamos desarrollar su trabajo complementando la interpretación gramsciana con el análisis de los sindicatos en los sistemas hegemónicos.Fil: Santella Aristizabal, Agustin. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Sociales. Instituto de Investigaciones "Gino Germani"; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Learn First, Practice Second Approach to Increase Health Professionals’ Nutrition-Related Knowledge, Attitudes, and Self-Efficacy.

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a “learn first, practice second” intervention on the nutrition-related knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy of multidisciplinary health professionals in West Virginia, specifically highlighting the Mediterranean Diet. Data was captured via online surveys at four time points (Baseline, Post-education, Post-immersion, Follow Up). All information was self-reported. This approach consisted of 16 weeks of online education, 2 weeks of cultural immersion in Tuscany, Italy, and a 7 month return to practice period. Data were analyzed using JMP Version Pro 12.2 and SAS Version 9.3 for Windows. Repeated measures ANOVA with irregular spacing was performed, followed by Dunnett’s or Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel testing for variables lacking normality. The level of significance was set at 0.05. The intervention utilized in the present study significantly improved nutrition knowledge (nonzero correlation p=0.0136, means score p=0.0075) and self-efficacy (T0-T1