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The purpose of this study is to investigate whether and how inter-firm cooperation and firm age moderate the relationship between family ownership and productivity.

We first estimate the total factor productivity (TFP) of a large sample of Italian firms observed over the period 2010–2018 and then apply a Poisson random effects model.

TFP is, on average, higher for non-family firms (non-FFs) than for FF. Furthermore, inter-organizational cooperation and firm age mitigate the negative effect of family ownership. In detail, it is found that belonging to a network acts as a moderator in different ways according to firm age. Indeed, young FFs underperform non-FF peers, although the TFP gap decreases with age. In contrast, the benefits of a formal network are high for older FFs, suggesting that an age-related learning process is at work.

The study provides evidence that FFs can outperform non-FFs when they move away from Socio-Emotional Wealth-centered reference points and exploit knowledge flows arising from high levels of social capital. In the case of mature FFs, networking is a driver of TFP, allowing them to acquire external resources. Since FFs often do not have sufficient in-house knowledge and resources, they must be aware of the value of business cooperation. While preserving the familiar identity of small companies, networks grant FFs the competitive and scale advantages of being large.

Despite the wide but ambiguous body of research on the performance gap between FFs and non-FFs, little is known about the role of FFs’ heterogeneity. This study has proven successful in detecting age as a factor in heterogeneity, specifically to explain the network effect on the link between ownership and TFP. Based on a representative sample, the study provides a solid framework for FFs, policymakers and academic research on family-owned companies.

This paper aims to test whether the publication of a social report provides information about the firm's market value. Its intention is to understand if investors believe the social report has a role equal to that traditionally attributed to accounting variables, i.e., whether the social report is value‐relevant in assessing a firm's market value.

This paper is deductive. It tests two main hypotheses: first, the social report is value relevant because it explains firm value; second, the social report influences the value‐relevance of accounting variables. The study applies the value‐relevance analysis on a sample of 178 Italian companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange.

The estimates show a significant negative correlation between the publication of a social report and the stock price. Furthermore, book value per share accounting information is more relevant for the companies that publish a social report, whereas the relevance of earnings per share does not change for these companies.

This paper increases the understanding of the value that markets assign to the social report. It contributes to enriching the literature on the value‐relevance analysis applied to non‐financial variables and to social report in particular.

This study aims to estimate and compare the effect of EU and US GSP schemes on the cotton and textile sectors of Pakistan.

The analysis used data from 2003 to 2014 for all the 14 categories of cotton and textile products at two-digit using HS commodity classification. Effects of the EU and US GSPs are estimated using a gravity trade model.

Both the concessions are statistically significant determinants of wadding and nonwoven special yarn, articles of apparel-knitted, articles of apparel-not-knitted and made-up textiles sectors. In the rest of the sectors, the results are a mix. Among these, EU GSP is a statistically significant determinant of wool and animal hair and manmade filaments yarn exports, while the US GSP is important for the exports of cotton yarn and woven fabrics, manmade staple fibers, carpets, impregnated fiber and knitted or crocheted fabrics.

The research contributes in two major ways. First, it estimates the effects of EU and US GSPs on the textile sector of Pakistan while controlling for the effect of tariffs. Second, the study tests joint hypotheses about the role of EU and US GSPs in the cotton and textile products exports of Pakistan.