Fabio La Rosa | Università degli Studi di Catania, Facoltà di Giurisprudenza (original) (raw)

Papers by Fabio La Rosa

Journal of Management and Governance, 2023

This paper aims to define a theoretical background for investigating greenwashing from a business... more This paper aims to define a theoretical background for investigating greenwashing from a business economic perspective. We consider possible research questions in the relevant field of study, which is business economics studies. The first research step proposes a path that will orient scholars to the multifaceted perspectives of greenwashing. The second step analyzes the main theories that can support researchers and might motivate the possible greenwashing strategies. The third step highlights the potential link between greenwashing, reputational and relational capital, and a broad concept of value that includes the social dimension. Finally, we propose a conceptual framework that highlights some emerging research issues and anticipates the effects of greenwashing. Considering that self-regulation is not effective in reducing the gap between substantive and symbolic behaviors, the main practical implication of this study lies in addressing the need for stronger regulation and effective legal enforcement, not only to improve mandatory environmental disclosure but also to develop an audit process of such disclosure. Our analysis offers a number of suggestions for future research. Considering the centrality of disclosure in the theoretical framework we defined for greenwashing, future research could adopt the legitimacy theory perspective to focus on the role of mandatory environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) disclosure as well. Further, our conceptual framework highlights a possible research issue that investigates how a social value destruction resulting from inconsistent environmental strategies, may impact shareholders' economic value.

Sebbene la crisi degli ultimi anni abbia penalizzato tutti i settori dell’economia, l’impatto su ... more Sebbene la crisi degli ultimi anni abbia penalizzato tutti i settori dell’economia, l’impatto su comparti eticamente controversi – qual è il gioco d’azzardo – non è scontato né facilmente prevedibile, atteso che le indagini nazionali (Eurispes, Libera, Consulta Nazionale Antiusura, ecc.), le teorie sulla psicologia del giocatore d’azzardo e le evidenze anedottali riportano conclusioni opposte, secondo cui in periodi di crisi economica si assiste ad un incremento (o ad un decremento) del consumo dei servizi di gioco. Ne consegue che la stima degli effetti della crisi sulla performance di tali aziende è assai difficoltoso, specie laddove si consideri la forte competizione e l’elevato grado di innovazione del settore, nonché la scarsa attenzione riservata fino ad oggi dagli studi economico-aziendali ad un comparto dell’economia che rappresenta pur sempre la terza industria italiana per volume d’affari. Il presente lavoro mira pertanto a studiare le determinanti della performance economica di un campione panel di 2.243 osservazioni su aziende italiane operanti nel settore del gioco d’azzardo nel periodo precedente gli anni di crisi economica (2005-2008) e nel successivo periodo di crisi (2009-2012). Le determinanti di interesse attengono alla proprietà (familiare, nazionale, internazionale o di altro tipo), al segmento principale di business (centri scommesse, slotmachines e videolottery, bingo, casinò) e al ruolo del gioco online, osservate negli anzidetti contesti temporali. Le analisi univariate, il modello di regressione multivariata adottato e i test di robustezza svolti consentono di affermare che in periodi di crisi economica congiunturale le aziende italiane del gioco d’azzardo registrano una riduzione della performance economica (ROE e ROA) e che le aziende del segmento slotmachines e videolottery presentano risultati superiori alle aziende degli altri segmenti.

This paper addresses a relevant and new topic, that is the business valuation of seized and confi... more This paper addresses a relevant and new topic, that is the business valuation of seized and confiscated firms, under both a theoretical and practical perspective. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to identify the main characteristics and critical points of the valuation process of this kind of firms. Starting from the specific characteristics of these firms and considering some environmental conditions affecting their activity, the paper tries to highlight the peculiar aspects of the evaluation process, by pointing out also some criteria to guide the selection of the appropriate valuation method. In addition, the paper tries to identify some preliminary operational proposals to draw up an effective business valuation report. This work is supported by an empirical analysis carried out on a sample of business valuation reports publicly available on the website of the National Agency for Seized and Confiscated Assets. Notwithstanding the small sample size – that i...

Meditari Accountancy Research

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of two different financial reporting m... more Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of two different financial reporting models (revenue-expense vs asset-liability) on several earnings attributes. Design/methodology/approach The analysis compares the earnings attributes of non-financial private firms using the Italian generally accepted accounting principles (Italian GAAP, based on a revenue-expense model) with those of the Italian non-financial private firms voluntarily adopting the international financial reporting standards (IFRS, based on the asset-liability model). To address major methodological concerns, the research design is based on a single-country analysis and on three different samples as follows: firms voluntarily adopting IFRS; a matched sample of Italian GAAP firms; Italian GAAP firms belonging to the Elite programme, and therefore, comparable to the IFRS adopters in terms of incentives towards financial reporting transparency. Findings The results show that firms reporting under a revenue-e...

Corporate Governance: An International Review

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: Based on both institutionalized agency theory... more Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: Based on both institutionalized agency theory and mesolevel theory, this study examines corporate governance disclosure in an audit firm's transparency report (TR) and whether more disclosure is associated with (a) the audit function of the country in which it is disclosed; (b) high levels of investor confidence in public interest entities (PIEs) shown in the portfolio of the audit firm; and (c) increased competition within the audit market. Research Findings/Insights: On the basis of content analysis, different measures of a corporate governance disclosure index (CGDI) are calculated for a sample of 122 auditing firms from 10 European countries over the period 2010-2012. Despite attempts at harmonizing audit practice across the EU, results confirm the role of institutional context in explaining differences among European countries. Moreover, while the CGDI reveals that the TR does improve investor confidence, no evidence was found that the new disclosure requirement unsettled audit market concentration. Theoretical/Academic Implications: Results support arguments of the institutionalized agency theory that audit firms' corporate governance disclosures depend on both firm-and country-level factors. Moreover, the interplay between these macro and meso factors explains the information asymmetry reduction that exists between auditors and shareholders, thus improving micro-level investor confidence. Practitioner/Policy Implications: The study provides an analysis of audit firm transparency based on the information disclosed in mandatory TRs. Policymakers and practitioners may benefit from the knowledge of items included in the TRs expected to impact on investor confidence. It also proposes the use of the TR for achieving market competition strategies, although it may be inefficient.

Journal of Management and Governance, 2021

As Legality Rating (LR) for Italian companies was only recently introduced, it is an under-invest... more As Legality Rating (LR) for Italian companies was only recently introduced, it is an under-investigated phenomenon that is difficult to univocally interpret or structure within a well-defined theoretical framework. Given that certain governance characteristics can drive strategic decisions and have a crucial role to play in the legitimacy process, this paper sets out to explore how governance can influence a firm's attitude and signal its socially responsible behaviour, in terms of legality. We investigated both corporate and regional governance antecedents using a sample of 1049 private Italian firms with a listed LR in 2016. We analysed hierarchical linear models with the LR score as a dependent variable, ranging from one to seven points. As a first in governance studies, we adopted the European Quality of Government Index to investigate differences in regional-level governance. We found that board size, ownership concentration, foreign ownership and being a cooperative were positively related to LR. Our results show that, where governance features make firms more inclined to safeguard their reputation, the LR is higher. Thus, rather than encouraging changes oriented to greater respect for the principles of legality, the LR primarily highlights companies that already behave honourably. Finally, a battery of robustness tests and further analyses on the role of regional governance quality reveal a substitution effect between regional and corporate governance.

Corporate Ownership and Control

In family firms, the principal-agent relationship and the steward role of family managers are det... more In family firms, the principal-agent relationship and the steward role of family managers are determinants for external growth and acquisition target selection. In fact, some acquisitions are better for the family’s need for risk reduction and company preservation. We aim to verify if family involvement in ownership and management influences firms’ acquisition propensity, type of strategy, and post-deal performance. We develop an empirical analysis for a sample of 141 Italian listed companies during 2005–2011, which includes the global financial crisis. Our results reveal that Italian listed family firms have lower acquisition propensity than non-family firms because of family involvement in ownership and executive committees. Especially, diversifying strategies are less pursued by family firms, and this is corroborated when family ownership increases. However, while family firms do not differ from non-family firms on post-acquisition performance, a moderating role of family firms a...

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Mar 19, 2018

Purpose: This study aims to explore how the economic recession and some corporate governance (CG)... more Purpose: This study aims to explore how the economic recession and some corporate governance (CG) provisions can affect the performance of Italian gambling small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) across different business segments. Design/Methodology/approach: This study uses a panel sample of 2,135 observations before and during the global financial crisis. Specifically, the roles of ownership, boards of directors, CEO gender, and gambling business segments are investigated in the Italian gambling market. Findings: Ownership concentration has a negative relationship with the performance of foreigner-and financial-owned firms, while boards exert a positive role on performance. Interestingly, the financial crisis does not impact the performance of Italian gambling SMEs and some business segments, such as bingo, perform even better during the crisis. Research limitations/implications: Further investigations should analyze the role of single games on firm performance. The consumer-and firm-level examinations offer very different perspectives and scholars should be aware of this when investigating the gambling industry. Practical implications: This study might help both policymakers and other gambling firms, such as casinos, to better understand which appropriate CG model should be adopted and how it can positively influence performance, especially in recessionary times. Originality/value: This study contributes to studies on hospitality and tourism by focusing on the complementary role of gambling SMEs with respect to casinos. It also increases knowledge on the role of CG in privately owned gambling firms, which thus far has been scantly investigated by scholars.

International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics

European Management Journal, 2021

By combining upper echelon theory with meso theory of management, this study investigates the rel... more By combining upper echelon theory with meso theory of management, this study investigates the relationship between both corporate and country corruption risk and the performance of CEOs, while controlling for a set of individual-level variables. We used a sample of 455 observations related to 249 listed companies from a list published by the Harvard Business Review of the world's best-performing CEOs, in both developed and emerging countries, over the 5-year period between 2013 and 2017. We implemented hierarchical linear models in a three-level approach based on country-(macro), firm-(meso), and individual-level (micro) variables. We found that corporate corruption risk negatively impacts CEO performance, although this relationship is also significantly moderated by the corruption risk at the country level. Our results support the view that corporate corruption prevention devices play a strong governance role in countries with high corruption risk. By exploring the interplay between these macro-and meso-factors in explaining the micro-level of CEO performance, our paper aims to build a contextualized meso-theory of corruption risk.

Journal of Management and Governance, 2023

This paper aims to define a theoretical background for investigating greenwashing from a business... more This paper aims to define a theoretical background for investigating greenwashing from a business economic perspective. We consider possible research questions in the relevant field of study, which is business economics studies. The first research step proposes a path that will orient scholars to the multifaceted perspectives of greenwashing. The second step analyzes the main theories that can support researchers and might motivate the possible greenwashing strategies. The third step highlights the potential link between greenwashing, reputational and relational capital, and a broad concept of value that includes the social dimension. Finally, we propose a conceptual framework that highlights some emerging research issues and anticipates the effects of greenwashing. Considering that self-regulation is not effective in reducing the gap between substantive and symbolic behaviors, the main practical implication of this study lies in addressing the need for stronger regulation and effective legal enforcement, not only to improve mandatory environmental disclosure but also to develop an audit process of such disclosure. Our analysis offers a number of suggestions for future research. Considering the centrality of disclosure in the theoretical framework we defined for greenwashing, future research could adopt the legitimacy theory perspective to focus on the role of mandatory environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) disclosure as well. Further, our conceptual framework highlights a possible research issue that investigates how a social value destruction resulting from inconsistent environmental strategies, may impact shareholders' economic value.

Sebbene la crisi degli ultimi anni abbia penalizzato tutti i settori dell’economia, l’impatto su ... more Sebbene la crisi degli ultimi anni abbia penalizzato tutti i settori dell’economia, l’impatto su comparti eticamente controversi – qual è il gioco d’azzardo – non è scontato né facilmente prevedibile, atteso che le indagini nazionali (Eurispes, Libera, Consulta Nazionale Antiusura, ecc.), le teorie sulla psicologia del giocatore d’azzardo e le evidenze anedottali riportano conclusioni opposte, secondo cui in periodi di crisi economica si assiste ad un incremento (o ad un decremento) del consumo dei servizi di gioco. Ne consegue che la stima degli effetti della crisi sulla performance di tali aziende è assai difficoltoso, specie laddove si consideri la forte competizione e l’elevato grado di innovazione del settore, nonché la scarsa attenzione riservata fino ad oggi dagli studi economico-aziendali ad un comparto dell’economia che rappresenta pur sempre la terza industria italiana per volume d’affari. Il presente lavoro mira pertanto a studiare le determinanti della performance economica di un campione panel di 2.243 osservazioni su aziende italiane operanti nel settore del gioco d’azzardo nel periodo precedente gli anni di crisi economica (2005-2008) e nel successivo periodo di crisi (2009-2012). Le determinanti di interesse attengono alla proprietà (familiare, nazionale, internazionale o di altro tipo), al segmento principale di business (centri scommesse, slotmachines e videolottery, bingo, casinò) e al ruolo del gioco online, osservate negli anzidetti contesti temporali. Le analisi univariate, il modello di regressione multivariata adottato e i test di robustezza svolti consentono di affermare che in periodi di crisi economica congiunturale le aziende italiane del gioco d’azzardo registrano una riduzione della performance economica (ROE e ROA) e che le aziende del segmento slotmachines e videolottery presentano risultati superiori alle aziende degli altri segmenti.

This paper addresses a relevant and new topic, that is the business valuation of seized and confi... more This paper addresses a relevant and new topic, that is the business valuation of seized and confiscated firms, under both a theoretical and practical perspective. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first attempt to identify the main characteristics and critical points of the valuation process of this kind of firms. Starting from the specific characteristics of these firms and considering some environmental conditions affecting their activity, the paper tries to highlight the peculiar aspects of the evaluation process, by pointing out also some criteria to guide the selection of the appropriate valuation method. In addition, the paper tries to identify some preliminary operational proposals to draw up an effective business valuation report. This work is supported by an empirical analysis carried out on a sample of business valuation reports publicly available on the website of the National Agency for Seized and Confiscated Assets. Notwithstanding the small sample size – that i...

Meditari Accountancy Research

Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of two different financial reporting m... more Purpose The purpose of this study is to analyse the impact of two different financial reporting models (revenue-expense vs asset-liability) on several earnings attributes. Design/methodology/approach The analysis compares the earnings attributes of non-financial private firms using the Italian generally accepted accounting principles (Italian GAAP, based on a revenue-expense model) with those of the Italian non-financial private firms voluntarily adopting the international financial reporting standards (IFRS, based on the asset-liability model). To address major methodological concerns, the research design is based on a single-country analysis and on three different samples as follows: firms voluntarily adopting IFRS; a matched sample of Italian GAAP firms; Italian GAAP firms belonging to the Elite programme, and therefore, comparable to the IFRS adopters in terms of incentives towards financial reporting transparency. Findings The results show that firms reporting under a revenue-e...

Corporate Governance: An International Review

Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: Based on both institutionalized agency theory... more Manuscript Type: Empirical Research Question/Issue: Based on both institutionalized agency theory and mesolevel theory, this study examines corporate governance disclosure in an audit firm's transparency report (TR) and whether more disclosure is associated with (a) the audit function of the country in which it is disclosed; (b) high levels of investor confidence in public interest entities (PIEs) shown in the portfolio of the audit firm; and (c) increased competition within the audit market. Research Findings/Insights: On the basis of content analysis, different measures of a corporate governance disclosure index (CGDI) are calculated for a sample of 122 auditing firms from 10 European countries over the period 2010-2012. Despite attempts at harmonizing audit practice across the EU, results confirm the role of institutional context in explaining differences among European countries. Moreover, while the CGDI reveals that the TR does improve investor confidence, no evidence was found that the new disclosure requirement unsettled audit market concentration. Theoretical/Academic Implications: Results support arguments of the institutionalized agency theory that audit firms' corporate governance disclosures depend on both firm-and country-level factors. Moreover, the interplay between these macro and meso factors explains the information asymmetry reduction that exists between auditors and shareholders, thus improving micro-level investor confidence. Practitioner/Policy Implications: The study provides an analysis of audit firm transparency based on the information disclosed in mandatory TRs. Policymakers and practitioners may benefit from the knowledge of items included in the TRs expected to impact on investor confidence. It also proposes the use of the TR for achieving market competition strategies, although it may be inefficient.

Journal of Management and Governance, 2021

As Legality Rating (LR) for Italian companies was only recently introduced, it is an under-invest... more As Legality Rating (LR) for Italian companies was only recently introduced, it is an under-investigated phenomenon that is difficult to univocally interpret or structure within a well-defined theoretical framework. Given that certain governance characteristics can drive strategic decisions and have a crucial role to play in the legitimacy process, this paper sets out to explore how governance can influence a firm's attitude and signal its socially responsible behaviour, in terms of legality. We investigated both corporate and regional governance antecedents using a sample of 1049 private Italian firms with a listed LR in 2016. We analysed hierarchical linear models with the LR score as a dependent variable, ranging from one to seven points. As a first in governance studies, we adopted the European Quality of Government Index to investigate differences in regional-level governance. We found that board size, ownership concentration, foreign ownership and being a cooperative were positively related to LR. Our results show that, where governance features make firms more inclined to safeguard their reputation, the LR is higher. Thus, rather than encouraging changes oriented to greater respect for the principles of legality, the LR primarily highlights companies that already behave honourably. Finally, a battery of robustness tests and further analyses on the role of regional governance quality reveal a substitution effect between regional and corporate governance.

Corporate Ownership and Control

In family firms, the principal-agent relationship and the steward role of family managers are det... more In family firms, the principal-agent relationship and the steward role of family managers are determinants for external growth and acquisition target selection. In fact, some acquisitions are better for the family’s need for risk reduction and company preservation. We aim to verify if family involvement in ownership and management influences firms’ acquisition propensity, type of strategy, and post-deal performance. We develop an empirical analysis for a sample of 141 Italian listed companies during 2005–2011, which includes the global financial crisis. Our results reveal that Italian listed family firms have lower acquisition propensity than non-family firms because of family involvement in ownership and executive committees. Especially, diversifying strategies are less pursued by family firms, and this is corroborated when family ownership increases. However, while family firms do not differ from non-family firms on post-acquisition performance, a moderating role of family firms a...

International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Mar 19, 2018

Purpose: This study aims to explore how the economic recession and some corporate governance (CG)... more Purpose: This study aims to explore how the economic recession and some corporate governance (CG) provisions can affect the performance of Italian gambling small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) across different business segments. Design/Methodology/approach: This study uses a panel sample of 2,135 observations before and during the global financial crisis. Specifically, the roles of ownership, boards of directors, CEO gender, and gambling business segments are investigated in the Italian gambling market. Findings: Ownership concentration has a negative relationship with the performance of foreigner-and financial-owned firms, while boards exert a positive role on performance. Interestingly, the financial crisis does not impact the performance of Italian gambling SMEs and some business segments, such as bingo, perform even better during the crisis. Research limitations/implications: Further investigations should analyze the role of single games on firm performance. The consumer-and firm-level examinations offer very different perspectives and scholars should be aware of this when investigating the gambling industry. Practical implications: This study might help both policymakers and other gambling firms, such as casinos, to better understand which appropriate CG model should be adopted and how it can positively influence performance, especially in recessionary times. Originality/value: This study contributes to studies on hospitality and tourism by focusing on the complementary role of gambling SMEs with respect to casinos. It also increases knowledge on the role of CG in privately owned gambling firms, which thus far has been scantly investigated by scholars.

International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics

European Management Journal, 2021

By combining upper echelon theory with meso theory of management, this study investigates the rel... more By combining upper echelon theory with meso theory of management, this study investigates the relationship between both corporate and country corruption risk and the performance of CEOs, while controlling for a set of individual-level variables. We used a sample of 455 observations related to 249 listed companies from a list published by the Harvard Business Review of the world's best-performing CEOs, in both developed and emerging countries, over the 5-year period between 2013 and 2017. We implemented hierarchical linear models in a three-level approach based on country-(macro), firm-(meso), and individual-level (micro) variables. We found that corporate corruption risk negatively impacts CEO performance, although this relationship is also significantly moderated by the corruption risk at the country level. Our results support the view that corporate corruption prevention devices play a strong governance role in countries with high corruption risk. By exploring the interplay between these macro-and meso-factors in explaining the micro-level of CEO performance, our paper aims to build a contextualized meso-theory of corruption risk.

Il volume nasce dalla convinzione che la genesi e la gestione dei rischi nelle imprese minori ric... more Il volume nasce dalla convinzione che la genesi e la gestione dei rischi nelle imprese minori richieda un approccio differente da quello delle imprese di maggiori dimensioni. La genesi del rischio è analizzata negli studi di imprenditorialità, proponendo un’integrazione dei diversi approcci offerti, ma privilegiando quello cognitivo. La gestione dei rischi è indagata in un’ottica critica delle reali possibilità applicative alle imprese minori. Infine, nell’accostare gli studi di entrepreneurship a quelli sul risk management, il volume propone un’analisi per matrici delle relazioni rischio–protezione e alcuni orientamenti per un governo consapevole della percezione e protezione del rischio.