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1 – 10 of over 46000Lucrezia Sgambaro, Davide Chiaroni, Emanuele Lettieri and Francesco Paolone
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the most recurrent variables characterizing the collaborative relationships of industrial symbiosis (IS) (hereinafter also referred to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the most recurrent variables characterizing the collaborative relationships of industrial symbiosis (IS) (hereinafter also referred to as “anatomic” variables) established in the attempt to adopt circular economy (CE) by collecting evidence from a rich empirical set of implementation cases in Italy.
Design/methodology/approach
The current literature on IS was reviewed, and a content analysis was performed to identify and define the “anatomic” variables affecting its adoption in the circular economy. We followed a multiple-case study methodology investigating 50 cases of IS in Italy and performed a content analysis of the “anatomic” variables characterizing each case.
Findings
This research proposes the “anatomic” variables (i.e. industrial sectors involved, public actors involvement, governmental support, facilitator involvement and geographical proximity) explaining the cases of IS in the circular economy. Each “anatomic” variable is discussed at length based on the empirical evidence collected, with a particular reference to the impact on the different development strategies (i.e. “bottom-up” and “top-down”) in the cases observed.
Originality/value
Current literature on IS focuses on a sub-set of variables characterizing collaboration in IS. This research builds on extant literature to define a new framework of five purposeful “anatomic” variables defining IS in the circular economy. Moreover, we also collect and discuss a broad variety of empirical evidence in what is a still under-investigated context (i.e. Italy).
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In this chapter, the author describes the education of Roma, Sinti and Caminanti (RSC) children in Italy focussing on possible pathways to school inclusion. According to available…
Abstract
In this chapter, the author describes the education of Roma, Sinti and Caminanti (RSC) children in Italy focussing on possible pathways to school inclusion. According to available national reports, there are about 140,000 RSC people living in Italy, who the author calls a ‘hidden minority’. The author provides detailed information on their ethnic origins and traditions, describes their legal and social situation, culture and language. Then the author outlines the attainment of RSC in the Italian education system and the most important policies to support their successful education. In conclusion, the author presents selected programmes to promote social inclusion and education of RSC children.
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Barbara Pistoresi and Alberto Rinaldi
Relying on a new dataset, this paper examines the genesis of current account fluctuations and the investment cycle in Italy. We perform a Granger causality test that shows that…
Abstract
Relying on a new dataset, this paper examines the genesis of current account fluctuations and the investment cycle in Italy. We perform a Granger causality test that shows that the persistent current account deficits in the years from unification to World War I were generated by variations in capital inflows, as hypothesized by Fenoaltea, and not by the dynamics of GDP, as in the Bonelli–Cafagna model. Finally, we show that these capital inflows prompted an industrial investment cycle in equipment and machinery but not – as claimed by Fenoaltea (1988) – a general investment cycle which included also construction and more volatile components of investment. These patterns held under both fixed and floating exchange rate regimes.
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During the last two decades the share of foreign-born residents in Italy has grown considerably, from just over 1 percent to about 8 percent. This chapter seeks to clarify the…
Abstract
During the last two decades the share of foreign-born residents in Italy has grown considerably, from just over 1 percent to about 8 percent. This chapter seeks to clarify the status of immigrants in Italy by examining the evolution of their economic situation and, in particular, the presence of economic hardship. Poverty is measured by considering not only the usual income-based indicators but also others that take into account households’ real and financial wealth. The picture that emerges is one of a higher incidence of economic hardship among immigrant households that strongly affects the dynamics of poverty nationwide. The economic gap with respect to natives appears to increase in the years considered, but the condition of poverty is not more persistent for immigrants than for Italians.
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The aim of this chapter is to investigate the immigrant women entrepreneurship phenomenon in Italy by focusing on the Polish experience. Stemming from the most current data on…
Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to investigate the immigrant women entrepreneurship phenomenon in Italy by focusing on the Polish experience. Stemming from the most current data on immigration in Italy and on immigrant women entrepreneurs and women-led firms, by analysing the regions in which these firms are grounded and the economic sectors in which they are mostly involved, this chapter presents the research programme the two authors of this book have been involved in over the last year and the first preliminary results. Specifically, the two authors engaged to compare the experiences, difficulties and opportunities of immigrant women entrepreneurs of different ethnicities/communities located in Italy. The final goal is to analyse if and how the socio-cultural background of these women counts, if and how it affects their way of doing business and what is the influence of the socio-cultural Italian context. The first group of immigrant women entrepreneurs that the authors decided to analyse are the Polish. Accordingly, this chapter presents data on Polish women entrepreneurs based in Italy and the results of an interview with an expert on this community.
Marco Lomuscio, Ermanno Celeste Tortia and Andrea Cori
In Italy, worker cooperatives (WCs), whose workers hold major control rights over collectively-owned assets, are the leading vehicle for the promotion and development of employee…
Abstract
Purpose
In Italy, worker cooperatives (WCs), whose workers hold major control rights over collectively-owned assets, are the leading vehicle for the promotion and development of employee ownership. Worker cooperatives are present in all regions and in most economic sectors, employing about 506,000 workers and generating a turnover of about €22 bn. Despite their history and diffusion, the high prevalence of WCs in Italy is under-researched and -thematised and requires new research.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper leverages unpublished primary and secondary data from Centro Studi Legacoop databank, the Aida-Bureau Van Dijk databank and the Cooperative Registry of the Ministry of Economic Development (CRMED) to explain the spread of WCs in Italy.
Findings
This paper reveals descriptive statistics of WCs and investigates their distribution across economic sectors and regions, their economic and financial performance and gives an overview of the relevant legislation. The paper indicates that older small- and medium-sized cooperatives located in central and north-eastern Italy perform best economically. However, in recent years, an increasing number of young cooperatives has emerged in South Italy thanks to favourable legislation, cooperative finance and the diffusion of cooperative know-how. Limitations to such results are reported in the conclusions.
Originality/value
The paper sheds light on past and recent development trends of WCs in Italy, highlights their growth in South Italy and revitalises the debate on the drivers, structures and rationales of employee-owned enterprises in Italy. Findings generate implications for research and practice. Given the tendency of WCs to better protect jobs than investor-owned enterprises, the spread of these enterprises may help workers find better and more stable jobs, counter-cyclically mitigating the dangerous effects of macro- and meso-economic fluctuations and instability.
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Paolo Costa, M. Gambuzza, Mara Manente and V. Minghetti
Southern Italy (2) is a multiform and atypical system in the Italian tourist economy. According to a general image, one of its main features is the extensiveness and quality of…
Abstract
Southern Italy (2) is a multiform and atypical system in the Italian tourist economy. According to a general image, one of its main features is the extensiveness and quality of the region's natural resources, especially the coastal areas, attractions which traditionally make the macroregion known essentially as a destination for “sun&sea” holidays. In recent years, moreover, due to growing and widespread awareness for environmental quality and for cultural factors, this image seems to have acquired new impulse and new occasions of interest. The wealth of particularly important historical, artistic and archaeological attractions (Magna Graecia, Roman and Arab‐Byzantine influences, the Baroque, etc); the diffusion and, often, the persistence of social‐cultural traditions that resist the influence of modernisation, are today—just as they were at the time of the Grand Tour—factors of strong appeal for the Southern regions. Today, the “capital cities” in Southern Italy are the main historical destinations of the early years of tourism, especially for foreign demand: besides Naples and Palermo, cities such as Taormina, Sorrento, Capri and Ischia, or destinations of cultural tourism such as Agrigento and Siracusa stand out.
Domenico Campa and Ray Donnelly
– The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of corporate governance reforms in Italy.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of corporate governance reforms in Italy.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors argue that the effectiveness of corporate governance can best be assessed with reference to the choices made by management or controlling shareholders. They use the curtailment of earnings management as a desirable and measureable outcome of good corporate governance to assess Italy’s progress since the 1990s. The UK is used as a reference point because it is a European Union (EU) economy of comparable size and there is evidence that its firms managed earnings to a much lesser extent than their counterparts in Italy in the 1990s. A matched sample of UK and Italian firms was used for the empirical analysis.
Findings
It was found that in contrast to the situation in the 1990s, firms in Italy do not manage earnings to a greater extent than their UK counterparts after the corporate governance reforms. In addition, firm-level governance has a greater effect on earnings management in Italy than in the UK. The authors attribute this to firm-level governance compensating for deficiencies in national institutions.
Research limitations/implications
The restriction of earnings management is just one positive consequence of good governance. Other positive outcomes require to be studied to form a complete picture of the impact of governance reforms in Italy.
Originality/value
This paper is the first to use an outcome-driven approach to evaluate the impact of governance reforms.
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Rafael Boix-Domenech, Francesco Capone and Vittorio Galletto
This paper aims to test the existence of the so-called industrial district effect on innovation (iMID effect) in Spain and Italy and to compare the intensity of this effect…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to test the existence of the so-called industrial district effect on innovation (iMID effect) in Spain and Italy and to compare the intensity of this effect between both countries. There is previous evidence of this effect for Spain, although, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it has never been measured for Italy.
Design/methodology/approach
Innovation intensity by local production system is measured using patents per million employees and analysed using the mean, the median, 3D maps and statistical tests.
Findings
Industrial districts generate between a third and a quarter of all technological innovations in Spain and Italy. The evidence about the district effect in innovation in Spain is consistent with previous studies. The novelty is that there is also evidence of this effect for Italy and its intensity is higher than for Spain. Almost one-half of the industrial districts fit in the most innovative quartile of local production systems, and they are located in the most innovative part of each country.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of this study include minor database issues. Implications include new focus on the general relevance of industrial districts as highly innovative local production systems and top innovators.
Practical implications
Reorientation of territorial and innovation policies.
Social implications
Effect on development and well-being through technical progress.
Originality/value
This article provides, for the first time, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, a measurement of the industrial district effect on innovation in Italy. The paper compares the results between Spain and Italy and allows for generalization of previous evidence, concluding that highly innovative industrial districts are not “rare diamonds”, revealing as an alternative and an extraordinarily powerful place-based innovation model.
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Valeria Pulignano, Domenico Carrieri and Lucio Baccaro
The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the developments which have characterized Italy’s industrial relations from post-war Fordism to neo-liberal hegemony and recent crisis…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the developments which have characterized Italy’s industrial relations from post-war Fordism to neo-liberal hegemony and recent crisis, with a particular focus on the major changes occurred in the twenty-first century, especially those concerning concertative (tripartite) policy making between the government, the employers’ organizations and the trade unions.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is a conceptual paper which analysis of main development trends.
Findings
Italy’s industrial relations in the twenty-first century are characterized by ambivalent features which are the heritage of the past. These are summarized as follows: “collective autonomy” as a classical source of strength for trade unions and employers’ organization, on the one hand. On the other hand, a low level of legislative regulation and weak institutionalization, accompanied by little engagement in a generalized “participative-collaborative” model. Due to the instability in the socio-political setting in the twenty-first century, unions and employers encounter growing difficulties to affirm their common points of view and to build up stable institutions that could support cooperation between them. The result is a clear reversal of the assumptions that had formed the classical backdrop of the paradigm of Italy’s “political exchange.” This paradigm has long influenced the way in which the relationships between employers, trade unions and the state were conceived, especially during 1990s and, to some extent, during 2000s, that is the development of concertative (tripartite) policy making. However, since the end of 2000s, and particularly from 2010s onwards national governments have stated their intention to act independently of the choices made by the unions (and partially the employers). The outcome is the eclipse of concertation. The paper explores how the relationships among the main institutional actors such as the trade unions (and among the unions themselves), the employers, and the state and how politics have evolved, within a dynamic socio-political and economic context. These are the essential factors needed to understand Italy’s industrial relations in the twenty-first century.
Originality/value
It shows that understanding the relationship among the main institutional actors such as the trade unions (and among the unions themselves), the employers and the state and their politics is essential to understand the change occurred in contemporary Italy’s industrial relations.
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