Inflation Risk, Wealth Expropriation and Governance Implications

With its often unperceived impact, interest rates and inflation volatility strongly affect long term stability within the firm, surreptitiously reshaping equilibria among different stakeholders and so raising key corporate governance concerns. Whereas the impact of interest rates and inflation on capital budgeting issues had been extensively analyzed, little attention has been paid to corporate governance implications, concerning key issues such as "optimal" (indexed) contracting, effective corporate ownership (messed up by wealth expropriation and redistribution), asset substitution or information asymmetries (embedded in hidden impacts on interest/inflation sensitive assets and liabilities). The topic is so theoretically and practically captivating, filling a gap in the existing literature and addressing real value protection targets, unassumingly crucial even for corporate ownership and control issues

COMBINING NETWORK THEORY WITH CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: CONVERGING MODELS FOR CONNECTED STAKEHOLDERS

Traditional corporate governance patterns are based on the interaction among composite stakeholders and the various forms of separation between ownership and control. Stakeholders cooperate around the Coasian firm represented by a nexus of increasingly complex contracts. These well-known occurrences have been deeply investigated by growing literature and nurtured by composite empirical evidence. Apparently, unrelated network theory is concerned with the study of graphs as a representation of (a)symmetric relations between discrete objects (nodes connected by links). Network theory is highly interdisciplinary, and its versatile nature is fully consistent with the complex interactions of (networked) stakeholders, even in terms of game-theoretic patterns. The connection between traditional corporate governance issues and network theory properties is, however, still under-investigated. Hence the importance of an innovative reinterpretation that brings to "network governance". Innovation may, for instance, concern the principal-agent networked relationships and their conflicts of interest or the risk contagion and value drivers – three core governance issues. Networks and their applications (like blockchains, P2P platforms, game-theoretic interactions or digital supply chains) foster unmediated decentralization. In decentralized digital platforms stakeholders inclusively interact, promoting cooperation and sustainability. To the extent that network properties can be mathematically measured, governance issues may be quantified and traced with recursive patterns of expected occurrences

The Valuation of Digital Intangibles: Technology, Marketing, and the Metaverse

This book offers an updated primer on the valuation of digital intangibles, a trending class of immaterial assets. Startups like successful unicorns, as well as consolidated firms desperately working to re-engineer their business models, are now trying to go digital and to reap higher returns by exploiting new intangibles. This book is innovative in its design and concept since it tackles a frontier topic with an original methodology, combining academic rigor with practical insights. Evaluation issues are increasingly based on an analytical comprehension of augmented business models and virtual function analysis, nurtured by real-time big data. The impact of digitalization on scalable business models is the main competitive advantage factor of the BigTechs and other Unicorns, representing a target for startups and the reengineering of traditional firms. The transition from the Internet to the metaverse represents the last frontier, showing how 3D virtual and augmented reality impacts social networking. The second edition of this book updates the contents of the first edition while comprehensively introduces these innovative topics--such as the metaverse, cloud storage, multi-sided digital platforms, ESG-compliance, and value co-creation patterns of digitized stakeholders--and demonstrates how best practices can be applied to specific asset appraisals, making it of interest to researchers, students, and practitioners alike. Tackles a frontier topic with an original methodology, combining academic rigor with practical insights Demonstrates how best practices can be applied to specific asset appraisal

PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, BIG DATA NETWORKS AND MITIGATION OF INFORMATION ASYMMETRIES

Public Private Partnerships (PPP) represent an increasingly frequent investment pattern where composite stakeholders interact in joint initiatives. Alignment of interests and consequent composition of conflicts is driven by the business purpose of the shared corporation, represented by a private Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) within a Project Financing (PF) investment package. Corporate governance implications go beyond the traditional contra position between ownership and control, showing cooperative patterns where the value is co-created and distributed. Big data-driven networks represent a trendy issue that connects public and private stakeholders through digital platforms where data are shared in real time. Information asymmetries and governance concerns are consequently softened

Networking Digital Platforms and Healthcare Project Finance Bankability

Framework: Healthcare project finance (PF) involves long-term structural investments in hospitals, typically within a public\u2013private partnership (PPP). Banks represent the third major stakeholder, supporting the private player. Within this well-known framework, digital platforms represent a new virtual stakeholder, operating as a bridging node that incorporates information, and eases transactions. The relationships among the stakeholders are re-engineered around the platform and may be expressed with network theory patterns, even considering its multilayer extensions. Justification: As these investments are highly leveraged, especially during the construction phase, bankability represents a major sustainability concern. Objective: The research question is focused on the savings deriving from the introduction of networked digital platforms, and on their impact on bankability, shaping a new PPP model. Methodology: The study is conducted through (a) an economic\u2013financial sensitivity analysis where digital savings impact on key PF parameters, including bankability; (b) a mathematical interpretation, based on network theory, where the stakeholders of two ecosystems\u2014respectively, without and with a digital platform\u2014are compared. Results: The creation of a value-adding \u201cpie\u201d anticipates its partitioning among the value co-creating stakeholders. This study represents an advance in the field, showing how technological innovation may improve the overall bankability and the value creation of leveraged infrastructural investments, even beyond the healthcare industry

NETWORK CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: INFORMATION AND RISK-RETURN SHARING OF CONNECTED STAKEHOLDERS

Traditional corporate governance patterns are based on the interaction among composite stakeholders and the various forms of separation between ownership and control. Shareholders, debtholders, managers, employees, suppliers, and clients cooperate around the Coasian firm represented by a nexus of increasingly complex contracts. These well-known occurrences have been deeply investigated by growing literature and nurtured by composite empirical evidence. Apparently unrelated network theory is concerned with the study of graphs as a representation of (a)symmetric relations between discrete objects (nodes connected by links ). Network theory is highly interdisciplinary, and its versatile nature is fully consistent with an illustration of the complex interactions of (networked) stakeholders, even in terms of game theoretic patterns. The connection between traditional corporate governance issues and network theory properties is however still under-investigated. Hence the importance of an innovative reinterpretation that brings to network governance. Innovation may for instance, concern the principal-agent networked relationships and their conflicts of interest or the risk contagion and value drivers \u2013 three core corporate governance issues. To the extent that network properties can be mathematically measured, governance issues may be quantified and traced with recursive patterns of expected occurrences

From physical reality to the Metaverse: a Multilayer Network Valuation

The physical reality can be partially mapped with network theory, showing the edging links between connected nodes, and their spatial and intertemporal dynamic interaction. The Internet is a network of networks representing a global system of interconnected computer networks. The metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection. There is so an evident Ariadne’s thread between these ecosystems, interpreted with multilayer network theory that examines the connectivity and interdependency between nodes positioned in the physical world, the web, or the metaverse. This pioneering study illustrates a new research avenue, analyzing the application of some of the most evident properties of network theory to the case, showing for instance how replica nodes can link through an avatar the physical world with the metaverse. A valuation methodology of the metaverse ecosystems will be proposed, using a with-and-without approach or multilayer network metrics

COMBINING NETWORK THEORY WITH CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: CONVERGING MODELS FOR CONNECTED STAKEHOLDERS

Traditional corporate governance patterns are based on the interaction among composite stakeholders and the various forms of separation between ownership and control. Stakeholders cooperate around the Coasian firm, represented by a nexus of increasingly complex contracts. These well-known occurrences have been deeply investigated by growing literature and nurtured by composite empirical evidence. Apparently unrelated network theory is concerned with the study of graphs as a representation of (a)symmetric relations between discrete objects (nodes connected by links). Network theory is highly interdisciplinary, and its versatile nature is fully consistent with the complex interactions of (networked) stakeholders, even in terms of game-theoretic patterns. The connection between traditional corporate governance issues and network theory properties is, however, still under-investigated. Hence the importance of an innovative reinterpretation that brings to \u201cnetwork governance\u201d. Innovation may, for instance, concern the principal-agent networked relationships and their conflicts of interest or the risk contagion and value drivers \u2013 three core governance issues. Networks and their applications (like blockchains, P2P platforms, game-theoretic interactions or digital supply chains) foster unmediated decentralization. In decentralized digital platforms, stakeholders inclusively interact, promoting cooperation and sustainability. To the extent that network properties can be mathematically measured, governance issues may be quantified and traced with recursive patterns of expected occurrences

Matching Financial Closeness with Social Distancing: Networking Digital Platforms within a Corporate Governance Ecosystem

The Covid-19 – Coronavirus pandemic has rapidly spread around the world, demanding for physical social distancing measures as a strategy to soften contagion. Whereas social closeness proves dangerous, financial proximity is increasingly needed. It can be guaranteed by FinTechs or technological devices and applications, like digital platforms. Exploiting their networking properties, platforms may be represented by bridging nodes like Mobile banking (M-banking) hotspots. M-banking and FinTech applications are fully consistent with physical distance prescriptions, and so presents a Covid 19-compliant strategy that eases financial inclusion, allowing for 24/7 operativity. This is essential in poor environments where healthcare systems are weak, and prompt liquidity is needed for survival. M-banking is also a remedy against bank desertification, caused by many factors that include the decrease of “physical” bank branches. Based on these premises, this study proposes an innovative interpretation of the networking properties of digital platforms and M-banking that represent a new – virtual – stakeholder, showing how they impact on corporate governance interactions among composite stakeholders. Due to their scalability, platforms foster cooperative value co-creating patterns among cooperating stakeholders, with deep albeit still under investigated governance implications. Network governance is a novel approach to the stakeholders' ecosystem, and its value-adding phisical and virtual interactions. The paper shows how to match virtual financial proximity with apparently contradicting social distancing. This study represents an advance in the current corporate governance literature, as it investigates about its smart (digital) extensions that can represent a shield against pandemic adversities, permanently reducing transaction costs and information asymmetries