Intellectual capital and firm performance in the global agribusiness industry: The moderating role of human capital

Purpose The main objective of this paper is to investigate the relationship between intellectual capital (IC), categorized in terms of four sub-constructs – namely human, relation, innovation and process capital – and business performance in the agribusiness industry. Design/methodology/approach Based on a sample of international agribusiness companies observed over a five-year period, this paper uses correlation and multiple regression analysis to test for the existence of a positive relationship between each IC component and conventional business performance metrics. Findings The empirical results support the hypotheses that relation and process capital have a positive impact on corporate performance. Counter to our expectations, innovation capital by itself is negatively asssociated with performance. Results also failed to confirm the hypothesis that human capital directly and positively affects performance. However human capital positively moderates the relation between innovation capital and performance, which suggests that firms that heavily invest in human capital are better placed to gain returns from their R&D investments. Originality/value This study expands the existing research on the link between intellectual capital and performance by adding fresh evidence from a highly knowledge-intensive sector which has been under-researched thus far. It may also contribute to the specific literature on R&D and performance as it uncovers that the value-generating effect associated with R&D investments is contingent on the levels of human capital

Value relevance of digitalization: The moderating role of corporate sustainability. An empirical study of Italian listed companies

The purpose of this paper is to assess whether a relation exists between stock market valuation and the extent to which Italian listed companies disclose information on their digitalization initiatives. The authors posit that the disclosure of digitalization-related information is a form of intellectual capital disclosure, which provides potentially value-relevant information to investors. Additionally, it is assumed that the reputation for corporate sustainability affects the relation between digitalization disclosure and stock market valuation. To test the aforementioned hypotheses, the authors first quantified the extent of digitalization disclosure by content-analysing the annual reports of 75 Italian listed companies for the years 2011–2017, and then they examined the value relevance of digitalization-related information accounting for the role of corporate sustainability. Empirical results suggest 1) that stock market participants incorporate digitalization-related information into their business valuation process, and 2) that firms with better reputation for corporate sustainability achieve higher valuations from disclosing their digitalization efforts. The potential contribution of this study is manifold: first, it extends prior research on the value relevance of IC disclosure by broadening its scope to include digitalization-related disclosure and evidencing the (moderating) role of corporate sustainability in firm valuation; second, it provides some empirical substance to the discussion on how to measure the value a company extracts from digitalization efforts; and third, it may support the case for increased non-financial disclosure as called for by accounting regulators and standard setters

Non-financial Disclosure and Materiality: Exploring the Role of CFOs

The attention to corporate sustainability has brought non-financial disclosure (NFD) into widespread use. With the rise of NFD, companies face the challenge of determining what information is material. To date, there is a shortage of qualitative studies that investigate how nonfinancial materiality gets defined and implemented in practice. To fill the gap, through a case analysis of two Italian listed companies, this chapter explores the following research questions: Who participates and which is the role of the CFO/controller in the materiality determination process? Whose information needs are primarily addressed when determining what is material or not? The findings show that the key organizational actors involved in the materiality determination process and their roles (including the CFO and the Chief Audit Executive) are different between the two companies and the related materiality assessment is mainly driven by the information needs of capital providers. Instead, the relevant implications for the materiality process to remark are the complexity of the stakeholder audience, the CFO’s skills, and the extension of managerial proxies to the CFO

The progression of coronary artery calcification in predialysis patients on calcium carbonate or sevelamer

: Coronary artery calcification is more prevalent in dialysis patients than in patients without kidney disease and this is associated with high serum phosphorus. In this study, we evaluate the effect of calcium carbonate or sevelamer treatments on the progression of calcification in 90 predialysis patients. Inclusion criteria were stable serum calcium, phosphorus, parathyroid hormone, and a similar baseline total calcium score (TCS). These patients were not treated by phosphate binder, vitamin D, or statin. They were given low-phosphorus diets without or with daily calcium carbonate or sevelamer throughout the study that averaged 2 years. Baseline demographic or clinical characteristics along with biochemical parameters were not different among the three groups. The TCS significantly increased in patients on the low-phosphorus diet alone, to a lesser extent in calcium carbonate-treated patients, and not at all in sevelamer-treated patients. The progression of coronary calcification paralleled that of the calcium score. Our study shows that sevelamer treatment should not be restricted to dialysis patients; however, a larger study should be undertaken to confirm these results

Migrazione sanitaria pediatrica: analisi epidemiologica, statistica, sociale ed economica del fenomeno in Campania

Lo scopo dello studio è stato quello di esaminare la migrazione pediatrica campana dal punto di vista epidemiologica, statistica, sociale ed economic

REPORT SUI DATI RACCOLTI DURANTE LA GIORNATA MONDIALE DEL RENE IN ITALIA NEGLI ANNI 2015-2016- Report for the World Kidney Days in Italy 2015-2016

World Kidney Day (WKD) is a global campaign, promoted by International Federation of Kidney Foundations (IFKF) and International Society of Nephrology (ISN) aimed at raising awareness among people on importance of our kidneys. This campaign includes many events across the globe. The main purpose of WKD is to create and spread awareness about preventive behaviours and risk factors for renal diseases. In Italy WKD is organized by the Italian Kidney Foundation (FIR) in collaboration with Italian Society of Nephrology (SIN) and the Red Cross of Italy. It takes place in hospitals, public spaces and in schools, where each participant is provided with informative material together with blood pressure and urine dipstick testing. Here, we present the data collected during the 2015 and 2016 WKD campaigns