Five shades of women: evidence from Italian listed firms

Purpose This paper aims to examine empirically the impact of gender diversity on corporate performance by both comparing different positions occupied by female directors on the boards and their personal-specific characteristics. Design/methodology/approach The paper examines a sample of Italian listed companies during 2006\u20132015. To deal with endogeneity issues, the authors use a generalized method of moments as an empirical methodology. Findings The empirical findings show that the positive effect of both independent and executive women directors on firm performance is moderated by the specific characteristics of female directors. Specifically, the analyses show that foreign and busy females negatively impact on performance. Conversely, graduate female directors strengthen the positive link between executive women and firm performance. Originality/value The paper sheds light on the consequences of appointing different types of female directors (i.e. independent, executive, graduate, foreign and busy) on firm performance. Our empirical research that investigates the association between gender diversity and performance in the Italian context based on a longitudinal study, which involves a period of ten\u2009years, allowing consideration both of the years before and after the introduction of the gender quota law (Golfo\u2013Mosca law)

The relationship between maternal-fetus attachment and perceived parental bonds in pregnant women: Considering a possible mediating role of psychological distress

Maternal-Fetal Attachment (MFA) delineates the emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects that mothers develop toward the unborn baby during pregnancy. The literature indicates that optimal attachment in pregnancy represents a protective factor for the mother-child attachment bond after birth and child development outcomes. To date, there are few studies that have investigated associated factors of MFA. This study sets out to explore the association between perceived parental bonds and maternal-fetal bonding in pregnant women, accounting for factors such as psychological distress, socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics.MethodsIn this cross-sectional study, 1,177 pregnant women answered the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Maternal-Fetal Attachment Scale, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y), and Beck-Depression Inventory (BDI-II).ResultsWe found out that perceived maternal and paternal care had significant direct effects on maternal-infant bonding during the pregnancy period when controlling for some confounders, including gestational age and mother age among others. Such maternal and paternal perceived care effects were not mediated by levels of psychological distress, which in turn resulted to be a “borderline” significant predictor of prenatal attachment. Interestingly, the gestational age and the mother age emerged to have a significant and synergic nonlinear effect, suggesting the influence on the MFAS of the gestational age depends on the values of the mother age, and likewise, the effect of mother age on MFAS depends on the gestational week.ConclusionThis study expands our knowledge of the intergenerational transmission of attachment pointing out the effects of a woman’s perceived bond in relation to her parental figures during the development of the prenatal attachment process. Findings also suggests that parenting support interventions may have benefits that are realized across generations

LAS FUENTES DE FINANCIACIÓN Y EL IMPACTO DE LOS DERIVADOS EN LA ESTABILIDAD ECONÓMICO-FINANCIERA DE LOS ENTES LOCALES ITALIANOS

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Il dissesto finanziario nelle aziende pubbliche locali : principi generali e applicazioni

Dottorato di ricerca in Economia e gestione delle amministrazioni pubbliche, XVIII ciclo. A.a. 2005-200

The Impact of Local Government Investment on Corporate Decisions

This work aims to provide evidence on the impact of public investment on local business decisions. In particular we want to see the effect of public investment on the development of local area - measured by GDP and employment - and therefore the effect that the development of the area determines the location decisions of businesses.The paper continues from Part 1 (EJournal of Corporate Finance №1 (17) 2011). In this Part, is empirically tested the research hypothesis, through an econometric analysis, describing the models and variables used in the application of panel techniques, and presents the results of the estimates, while last section concludes with summary of some considerations

The role of family control in affecting the relationship between CEO duality and firm performance before and during the crisis

Using agency theory, stewardship theory and socio-emotional wealth theory perspectives, we examine the relationship between CEO duality and the performance of Italian publicly listed companies over the period 2003–2013. In addition, the role of moderating factors, before and during the recent financial crisis, is investigated. The results, without considering the role of family control as moderating factors, show a negative effect of dual leadership on performance, in line with the point of view of agency theory. However, focusing on family firms only, we observe that family CEO duality increases the performance of firms during the financial and economic crisis. Our study confirms the advantages of family control in a period of crisis and highlights the importance of family firms for Italy

Consiglio di amministrazione e valore d'impresa

This paper examines the role of the board of governances in influencing the value of the firm. In particular, we study the impact of the five most important characteristics of corporate governance on firm value of the Italian listed firms during the period 2003-2013. The empirical findings, based on sample of 193 firms-year and 1613 total observations, show the predominance of the benefits deriving of stewardship theory and resource dependence theory rather than the disadvantages related to agency theory. The results, obtained using panel data analysis, show that performance are positively affected by the presence of Busy governances and Board Size. On contrary to our expectations, CEO duality, Independent and Female Governances do not influence firm value