Fabio Monteduro

The Board of Directors and The Adoption of Quality Management Tools

Abstract The article examines the role of the board of directors in Local Public Utilities (LPUs). It aims at verifying empirically if a correlation exists between specific characteristics of the board of directors and the adoption of innovative arrangements addressing emerging needs of users and citizens (i.e. quality). By means of applying multivariate statistical methods to a random sample of sixty Italian LPUs, this study finds the relational capital of the boards affecting the take up of quality-oriented actions by LPUs. These results support the resource-dependence theory, neglected by mainstream literature.

The Movement Beyond the New Public Management: Public Governance Practices in Italian Public Organisations

Purpose – The chapter aims to analyse specific management tools which can be used to facilitate public governance practices, such as the process of stakeholder involvement.Methodology/approach – By means of both a theoretical discussion and an empirical research conducted on Italian local public utilities (LPUs), the chapter attempts to understand: (a) the degree of application of quality management, sustainability mechanisms and stakeholders involvement; (b) the correlation between the application of these tools stakeholder involvement processes.Findings – Not all the tools imported from the private sector have the same ‘attitudes’ for stakeholder involvement evidencing a gap of Italian LPUs in quality management systems in ensuring that stakeholders and their contribution to product value is considered. These results give support to the necessity to move beyond New Public Management. Therefore, governance becomes a new process for developing and implementing public policies: this requires original mechanisms of coordination among institutional actors, public authorities and stakeholders.Research limitations/implications – This study gives rise to new research path in LPUs corporate governance research. Looking for the creation of a series of suppositions and considerations as to why LPUs actively venture into the practice of good corporate governance trough stakeholder involvement. Accordingly, it is necessary to invest in the debate on the tasks of the board of directors.Originality/value of paper – This study gives a new path of research, asking board of directors to move toward a stakeholder-conscious governance model, with broader input and ongoing engagement, as an important aspect for a better corporate governance in public administrations.

The Adoption of Outcome-Related Performance Indicators in External Reporting: An Empirical Study

ABSTRACT Contemporary government reforms are changing how performance is measured and evaluated, by shifting the focus from inputs and processes to outputs and outcomes. This study uses agency theory, institutional theory, and organizational information processing theory to hypothesize and assess how particular organizational and institutional factors affect the disclosure of outcome information by public organizations, drawing on an empirical analysis of 214 Italian public organizations. Organizational size, mode of service delivery, and the degree of regulation are all strongly associated with the disclosure of outcome indicators in external performance reports.

Empirical Research on Nonprofit Boards: Main Features and Differences from the Literature on Corporate and Public Boards

Abstract Purpose Recent literature on nonprofit boards of directors has extensively investigated the composition, role, responsibilities, and characteristics of boards. Given the growing number of studies on nonprofit boards, which added new impulse to the debate on the role and characteristics of these players, it is time to analyze the state of the art and systematize the current knowledge. On the other hand, despite the presence of some literature reviews, a research comparing the debate among the nonprofit, private, and public sectors is still lacking. Using Gabrielsson and Huse’s (2004) framework, we wanted to identify factors that can influence research on nonprofit boards and compare our results with existing studies on private and public sector. Methodology/Approach We conduct a systematic literature review, selecting empirical articles published in international scientific journals from 1992 to 2012. Findings We found similarities and differences in relation to research on boards among sectors. As a common result, we found that evolutionary studies still remains a neglected area in all of three realms. Finally, whereas input–output studies prevail in the private sector and contingency studies prevail in the public sector, behavioral studies prevail in the nonprofit sector, demonstrating, also, that the sector itself can make a difference in the board’s research. Research Limitations/Implications This literature review provides some suggestion for further research on boards for all of three sectors. For example, we suggest complementing research on boards on all three sectors, especially in relation to evolutionary studies. Originality/Value of Paper This paper fills the need to clarify the status of research on nonprofit boards, in order to address scholars in the understanding of the phenomenon.

Governance and Corruption in the Public Sector: An Extended Literature Review

Abstract Purpose This chapter aims to contribute to the literature on public governance and its link to corruption. In particular, the chapter presents conceptual arguments for better understanding the ways in which public governance choices may affect corruption levels, thus identifying governance policies, mechanisms, and roles that can contribute in fighting and preventing corruption at macro-, meso- and micro-levels of analysis. Methodology/approach Starting from a macro-, meso- and micro-perspectives, this chapter is based on a literature review in order to understand connections between public governance and corruption. Findings Even if literature on the causes of public corruption are analysed from the macro-, meso-, and micro-perspectives, contributions of public governance scholars in relation to anticorruption efforts are mainly concentrated on a macro-perspective of analysis, while only a limited number of scholars offer a reflection on the possible interdependencies among governance policies and instruments and anticorruption efforts at the organizational level. Originality/value Despite the importance of the meso- and micro-perspectives, the literature review presented in this chapter shows us an important gap on the definition of which governance mechanisms and instruments or organizational policies are important to carry out in order to prevent or fight corruption, thus highlighting the need to improve research on this important field.

Governance and Value Creation in Grant-giving Foundations

Purpose – Grant-giving foundation leaders are increasingly concerned with understanding the primary role their institutions are pressured to play in financing the growing nonprofit sectors. The main objective of the chapter is to determine whether effective governance plays a major role in driving foundations’ innovation and value-creation processes.Methodology – Building on the idea that foundations should act as financial partners, managerial experts, and innovator facilitators who deal with the projects proposed by nonprofit organizations, this chapter uses a survey and the annual reports of Italian grant-giving foundations to isolate their records in term of governance, innovation attitude, and performance.Findings – The results of this chapter contribute to improving understanding of the drivers that help foundations to improve the sophistication level of the grant-giving process. In particular, the analysis of governance provides relevant insights about the path foundations follow to incorporate selected tailored methods and practices from the “for profit” competitive arena to improve foundations’ output and nonprofit grantees’ outcomes.Social implication – Many academics, political leaders, and practitioners expect foundations to play the unique dual role of merchant bank and venture capitalist to foster the positive impact of nonprofit organizations on societies and people. The findings of this chapter facilitate this process.Originality/value of the chapter – The main contribution of this study lies in proposing and testing a theoretical framework that foundations can implement to disseminate liquidity and managerial expertise efficiently among selected grantees and to improve grantees’ social outcome.

Cross-Sectoral Relations in the Delivery of Public Services

This volume presents and discusses evidence on collaboration between government, businesses and non-profits, focusing on an inter-organizational perspective of managing at the boundaries between sectors.

Contingency, Behavioural and Evolutionary Perspectives on Public and Nonprofit Governance

This volume accesses governance in public and non-profit organizations. Building on and challenging recent research in this area, this volume critically examines the contextual, behavioural and historical factors of governance.