Large Italian Companies Research Articles

Areas of large enterprise and industrial districts in the development of post-war Italy: A preliminary survey

Our aim in this article is to lay some statistical and theoretical foundations for an understanding of Italian post-war economic growth, by devoting special attention to what has happened in the hundred different “Italies” that go to make up the mosaic of this country. We have concentrated our analysis on comparing “areas of large enterprise” with “industrial districts” through a distinction between district provinces (IDPs), large enterprise provinces (LEPs) and other provinces (OPs). We investigate manufacturing industry by means of in depth analyses of trends in employment and value added, as well as through breakdowns of export flows and income and prosperity levels. Since the end of World War II it appears that Italian economic growth has largely been formed by the constant, massive flow of exports of personal and household goods and light mechanically-engineered products, that a sizeable flow of exports is attributable to growth in the industrial districts, and that although the income gap between the different parts of the country has not been eliminated, growth by the industrial districts and the policy of industrialization in Southern Italy have together engineered a major territorial dispersion of both light and heavy industry. However, heavy industry and high-tech large Italian companies have found increasing difficulties and even lost many of the positions they once held. Our survey indicates that a policy for industrial development in Italy must take account of the weakness of the heavy industry sector along with the features and requirements of industrial districts.

Interdependence and fit in team performance management

Purpose – To evaluate a proposed prescriptive model for the design of effective combinations of performance goals and pay‐for‐performance plans for the performance management of teams.Design/methodology/approach – The idea underlying the model – in which task, goal, and reward interdependence and their fit play a dominant role – is that a pay‐for‐performance plan should support the team goals and the goals of individual team members as well as support the way in which team members need to cooperate. To obtain a first notion on the model's validity, it was applied to evaluate a pay‐for‐performance plan for management teams at a large IT company. This evaluation consisted of an in‐depth study of three management teams, using a case study methodology.Findings – Combinations of fit among type of team, performance goals, and pay‐for‐performance plan (established by a fit between the interdependence constructs and/or by an overlap in the content of the goal and pay indicators) are more effective than combinatio...

Social accounting in Italy: Origins and developments

Interest in social accounting in Italy initially developed in the mid 1970s but until the early 1990s it remained a principally academic interest. Since about the mid-1990s though, interest in social accounting amongst those in academe, business and the profession has grown significantly and towards the turn of the century some large Italian companies – especially in the energy and telecommunications industries were producing stand-alone social and/or environmental reports (Vicini, 1998). These reporting innovations remained, however, voluntary despite some limited activity in the area of regulation. One important initiative in this more recent period was the formation in 1998 of GBS (Gruppo di Studio per il Bilancio Sociale, a group composed of academics, practitioners, and consultants from different fields), with the aim of formulating a series of standards for the construction and diffusion of social accounts. This article represents an overview of how social accounting has developed in Italy and, in particular, the nature, role and influence of the theoretical framework developed within, what we will define later as, Economia Aziendale. The paper will not be particularly concerned with nomenclature and the term “social accounting” will be used to include the process of collation, preparation and publication of social and environmental information in the form of different social and environmental accounts. For noting only at this stage, generally, in Italy, bilancio sociale, bilancio ambientale, environmental reporting, bilancio di sostenibilita are the more commonly used terms. Some authors, (for example, Bartolomeo 1997 and Cavilli et al 2003) tend to distinguish between bilancio ambientale (considered as an internal management controlling tool) and environmental reporting (considered as an external instrument of communication).

Integration of web-based procurement and fulfillment: A comparison of case studies

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), and in particular the Internet, have played a fundamental role in helping companies reach the goals of “supply chain integration”. The Internet can change the role and type of relationships between the various players, creating new value networks and developing new business models. This work studies the impact of the Internet on company business, in particular on procurement and fulfilment processes. The analysis is carried out by considering and comparing four case studies regarding four large Italian companies. An evolutionary model for e-business strategy is proposed. This model shows how ICT can evolve from being merely a means of communication to being an instrument which coordinates company processes through five stages: traditional communication tools, internal integration, Web-based communication tools, XML Web-based platform, and integrated enterprise. Even if the companies studied are geared towards different markets, the strategies they have used are quite similar. In particular, they have adopted the XML Web-based platforms model.

Internal Auditing and Risk Assessment in Large Italian Companies: an Empirical Survey

This paper aims at achieving an overall view regarding the state of the art of internal auditing in large Italian companies. Mainly, it is focused on risk assessment practices and on the execution of a risk‐based approach in the audit process.The research is based on a survey carried out on the ‘Top100’ companies listed at the Italian Stock Exchange.Survey results reveal that practices vary significantly among three different models: A few companies (25%) carry out mainly traditional compliance activities and they generally follow an audit‐cycle approach for the annual audit planning; In most companies (67%), internal auditors adopt the COSO model and perform mainly operational auditing. Risk‐based approach is applied predominantly at macro level. Finally, it is possible to identify a very few large companies (8%), in which auditors are applying a risk‐based approach both at macro and micro level.

Implementation of e-procurement and e-fulfillment processes: A comparison of cases in the motorcycle industry

Electronic business is the process which uses Internet technology to simplify certain company processes, improve productivity and increase efficiency. It allows companies to easily communicate with their suppliers, buyers and customers, to integrate “back-office” systems with those used for transactions, to accurately transmit information and to carry out data analysis in order to increase their competitiveness. The aim of this work is to define the parameters which can be used to define the performance of companies which use e-business. Particular attention is given to procurement and fulfillment in order to compare the companies studied and measure their efficiency. Fulfillment means controlling and managing transactions, warehouses, transportations and reverse logistics. This analysis is followed by case studies of two large Italian companies in the field of motorcycles. The market strategy they use and the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in their procurement and distribution processes is analyzed. This comparison provides useful information regarding the way in which Internet can be used by two companies which operate in the same market. The paper ends with the presentation of an evolutionary model for e-business strategy. The stages of the model go from the use of ICT simply as instruments of communication to the improvement of coordination processes.

Italy: Analyzing Reputation in a Cross-National Setting

This study analyses the perceived reputation of large Italian companies by the general public in Italy. The study identifies those companies which are most ‘visible’ before going on to note which receive the most positive nominations and which are perceived as the poorest performers.

THE PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS ANALYSIS WITH FUZZY LOGIC

This paper presents an innovative approach based on fuzzy logic to the Performance Requirements Analysis which is the first step of Target Costing. This analysis provides relevant information to designers on the importance of functions and components of the product. Traditional models are not able to process qualitative information provided by customers. In the first part of the paper we describe the model, while in the second part we show experimental results obtained by inter-viewing the customers of a large italian company. The fuzzy model has many practical advantages: the company can process qualitative information, can consider the degree of uncertainty and imprecision of respondents, can calculate reliable values of importance of functions and components of the product

Measuring the Financial Benefits of IT Investments on Coordination

We know from the information processing perspective within the theory of organizations that IT can reduce coordination costs by increasing an organization's information processing capacity. Purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the relationship between greater investments in information technology and lower coordination costs on firm-level data. Two high-level measures of coordination costs are defined based on the information processing perspective within the theory of organizations. Our hypothesis that greater IT investments should be correlated with lower coordination costs is tested with both measures on longitudinal data from a cross-sectional sample of 18 large Italian companies over an 8-year period between 1988 and 1995. Results on this sample seem to support our hypothesis by showing a significant and negative correlation both aggregately and on sub-samples of data clustered by industry.

Performance-based management incentives at the Fiat Group: a field study

This paper describes the findings of a field study of the performance-based management incentives used at the Fiat Group, the large Italian company primarily engaged in the manufacture and sale of vehicles. The purpose of the study was exploratory because knowledge of how Italian firms use management incentives is almost non-existent. The findings show that Fiat's incentive programme is quite similar to those used in most divisionalized U.S. corporations in that, for example, rewards are based heavily on short-term accounting measures of performance; highly achievable budget targets are one of the most important standards to which actual performance is compared; and few adjustments are made for the effects of uncontrollable factors. The paper suggests several questions worthy of further study, including why Fiat's system is so similar to those used in U.S. firms, whether incentive systems can be implemented successfully only when the firm's prospects are bright, what makes for a successful corporate restructuring, when it is desirable to limit managers’ bonus potentials, and whether concern about longer-term perspectives is a sign of a maturing incentive system in growing businesses.

Using errors to direct design

Within many of the large IT companies, systems are being developed iteratively. This iterative development is often guided by the results of usability trials, where systems are tested with user in ‘usability laboratories’. Much of the analysis of these trials is concentrated upon a qualitative assessment of the errors that occur during interaction. There is, however, no generally accepted means by which errors are analysed. Consequently, an evaluative scheme for classifying user-system errors has been developed, and is outlined in this paper. The results of an initial limited study of the use of the scheme are described, together with some example recommendations for changing the system that was analysed during the study.

Business policy and management development in large American and European concerns

In this article the author describes three models which he believes are useful for comprehension of Management Development problems and Needs in large firms. His ideas are based upon a survey undertaken in the field of Management Development in the U.S. and Europe and his experiences in tackling the problem in a large Italian Company.