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This paper aims to investigate the impact of family involvement in ownership and governance on the quality of internal auditing.

Leveraging a hand-collected data set of listed family firms from 2014 to 2020, this study uses regression analyses to investigate the impact of family ownership, family involvement on the board, family CEO and the generational stage of the family business on the quality of internal auditing.

The results provide evidence that family ownership is positively associated with the quality of internal auditing, while later generational stages of family businesses have the opposite effect. Additional analyses reveal that the presence of a sustainability board sub-committee moderates the relationship between generational stages of family businesses and the quality of internal auditing function.

This paper does not consider country-institutional factors and other potentially family-related antecedents or governance factors that may affect the quality of internal auditing.

The results are informative for investors and non-family stakeholders interested in understanding under which conditions family-related factors influence the quality of internal auditing functions.

This study offers fresh evidence regarding the relationship between family-related factors and the quality of internal auditing and board sub-committees that moderate such a relationship in family businesses.

This study aims to explore the relationship between top management characteristics and intellectual capital (IC) performance of small companies.

This research offers an empirical investigation into a unique sample of 135 small Italian companies, which have been recognised as meeting legal values. This study uses a regression analysis to test whether CEO age, CEO connections and management team size affect IC performance.

Companies managed by CEOs with higher levels of connections and with a greater number of managers exhibit improved IC performance. In addition, this study provides evidence that companies with older CEOs demonstrate better IC efficiency.

This study does not consider all top management-specific factors and incentives that may affect IC performance and uses a limited sample of companies.

This study suggests that increased network activity and larger management teams are beneficial for small companies to improve the efficiency of IC used.

The work offers novel empirical evidence to understand what governance and management-specific factors affect the efficiency in managing IC assets in small companies.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the impact of intellectual capital (IC) on the reputation and performance of Italian companies.

The paper exploits a unique data set of 452 non-listed companies that obtained a reputational assessment from the Italian Competition Authority (ICA). To test the hypotheses, this study implemented several regression analyses.

Results support the argument that human capital efficiency is a key driver of corporate reputation. Findings also reveal that companies, which obtained reputational rating under ICA scrutiny, show a positive relationship between IC elements and various measures of financial performance.

The study focuses on a single country; it is not free from the imprecisions of Pulic’s VAIC model.

This paper recommends companies that are interested to achieve a robust reputation should consider the human capital as a strategic intangible asset. Second, the results suggest that companies with an ICA reputational rating are able to leverage their intangibles to potentiate performance and competitiveness.

This is the first empirical investigation on the contribution of IC in generating value for corporate reputation. Additionally, the study contributes to the literature on the link between IC and performance by examining a sample of firms not yet explored in prior research.

This paper aims to investigate the relationship between the female board participation and the readability of annual report.

Using hand-collected data from a “network-oriented market”, as exists in Italy, which includes 435 annual reports, this study uses a regression analysis to test whether female board participation affects the annual report readability.

Female board participation is found to have a positive impact on disclosure readability in firms with small boardroom connections but the opposite effect in firms with large boardroom connections.

This paper responds to recent calls in the corporate governance literature by investigating whether the female board participation affects the transparency of the disclosure practices.

This study has policy implications, as it helps to improve evaluations of how, and under which circumstances, female board participation may lead to higher disclosure quality and thus benefit investors.

This paper shows that female board participation has different effects on the disclosure readability at different levels of board positions in inter-firm networks.

This study aims to determine the impact of information-sharing disseminated through the firms’ board connections on the readability of the management discussion and analysis (MD&A).

The investigation conducted in this study is performed by using a regression analysis. The readability of the MD&A is measured by the Flesch reading ease. The level of information-sharing is determined by the degree centrality index. The sample is composed of 83 Italian-listed firms that comprise over 4,000 directors for the period 2008-2012.

The main results of this study show a significant relationship between the degree centrality and MD&A readability, suggesting that board connections play a crucial role in improving the quality of external reporting.

This study uses a limited sample size. Further, we do not isolate the possible effect of other reporting incentives that may affect the readability of external reporting.

This study argues that for a non-English-speaking country such as Italy, information-sharing is a vehicle for improving the quality of external reporting and the competitiveness of firms in international capital markets.

This research offers an original contribution to the existent literature by highlighting the role of the firms’ board connections in determining the level of the corporate disclosure readability. This implies the opportunity for future research to take into account the firms’ board connections when they analyze related phenomena.

This study aims to investigate whether the characteristics of the chief financial officer (CFO) have an impact on the intensity of the corporate research and development (R&D) investment.

Based on hand-collected data for the CFOs of a sample of the largest European listed companies for the period 2013–2016, this study uses regression analyses to test empirically the association of CFO education, CFO gender and CFO age with R&D investment intensity.

The presence of female CFOs, CFOs with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree and older CFOs is positively associated with the intensity of R&D investment.

This study relies on some observable characteristics of CFOs and focuses on large listed companies.

The results of this study may help investors, stakeholders and practitioners to understand better which type of CFO characteristics are more likely to result in higher firm-level R&D investment intensity.

This study offers the first insights into the impact of CFOs, as the most prominent C-suite executives, on the level of corporate investments in R&D activity.

This study aims to investigate the association between the co-option of the chief financial officer (CFO) and dividend payments, assessing whether the talent of the CFO affects this association.

The empirical analyses were based on hand-collected data for 922 firm-year observations from 157 European listed firms, during the period 2013–2019. Empirical models, based on a two-step estimation procedure, involved the use of instrumental variables and the generalised moment method.

The results show that CFO co-option is negatively associated with the level of dividend payments. It was also found that the degree of CFO talent moderates the negative association between CFO co-option and dividend payments.

This investigation responds to the call for literature which examines how chief executive officer (CEO) – CFO relationships influence firms’ policies and outcomes. The study offers novel evidence for the individual-level characteristics of CFOs which are likely to reduce the effectiveness of CEO power and increase monitoring on corporate decisions on dividends.

The study sheds light on the effect of the interactions between CEOs and CFOs, which are important for investors’ expectations. In this regard, investors may be interested in the CFO profiles which may reduce CEO power over dividend policies.

Unlike previous research, which focused on CEOs, the authors are the first to shed light on the role of CFOs as key decision makers in influencing the dividend policies in modern corporations.

This study aims to understand how Big Data foster a greater acceptance of performance management systems (PMS) discourses in health care.

This paper focusses on the case of head and neck cancer treatment and prevention and benefits from the analysis of archival sources and 19 interviews with physicians in the field. It uses the framework of the Middle Range theory (MRT) to understand whether, in the case of head and neck cancer, Big Data may favour the enactment of PMS discourses in health care, in turn benefiting from any improvement in PMS.

This study setting unveils the changing pathway known as reorientation through boundary management. Medical professionals internalized and even mobilized PMS discourses, showing the premises for evolutionary changes in the future, when the current limitations will be dealt with.

This paper offers new theoretical, practical and policymaking insights into how new technologies can foster positive PMS discourses among actors who usually resist them. This value also extends to different fields and contexts.

This study aims to provide an empirically informed view on the auditing profession’s readiness to embrace “disruptive” technologies. Relying on evidence from Big 4 employees in Italy, this study examines the factors that motivate auditors to use blockchain technology (BT).

To this aim, this study uses an integrated theoretical frame merging the third version of the technology acceptance model (TAM3) and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). The analytical model is based on an application of the structural equation modelling with partial least square estimation on data gathered through a Likert-based questionnaire.

The findings reveal that the main predictors of auditors’ intention to use blockchain are performance expectancy and social influence. Moreover, auditors’ effort expectancy in relation to this technology implementation and use appears to be a reasonably reliable predictor.

This paper contributes an evidence-based view to the discussion on the impact of automation and disruptive information and communication technologies, on the roles of accounting and auditing professionals. It uses a novel approach to analysis by integrating TAM3 and UTAUT within its theoretical model. It complements and extends the field of studies on technology acceptance by offering fresh insights into auditors’ perceptions. Finally, the paper highlights practical implications for business leaders aiming to use the advantages of BT in audit firms.

This study aims to examine the impact of corporate board characteristics and country-level legal system on corruption disclosures mandated by the recent European Union (EU) Directive No. 95/2014.

Based on a sample of 234 European listed companies and covering the 2017–2018 period, this study uses regression analyses to empirically test the association of independent directors, board gender diversity and country’s legal system with disclosure of corruption information.

The presence of independent directors and female directors is positively associated with corporate corruption disclosures. The association between independent directors and corruption disclosures is especially strong when firms are operating in the common law environments.

This study is exclusively focused on larger European listed firms and therefore the findings may not be valid for small and medium firms.

This study provides important information to policymakers to have a better understanding of the factors that influence firms’ disclosure policy on corruption-related activities. It also offers useful information to investors because it shows firms’ propensity to disclose corruption information that would enable them to evaluate their risk and return better.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that evaluates firms’ response to the EU Directive No. 95/2014 in disclosing corruption information after its implementation in 2017. It documents the effective role played by female directors in influencing firms’ information disclosure policies. It also confirms that common law environment is more conducive to disclosures.