Marina Gigliotti

The economic impact of cultural events:: the Umbria Jazz music festival

This paper assesses the economic impact of a cultural event on a local economy. The event analysed is the Umbria Jazz music festival, which is held annually in July in the city of Perugia in Italy. The relevance of this case study concerns the methodological problems involved in estimating the number of visitors attracted by an event characterized by numerous free concerts. In addition, through the choice of the components of expenditure and the impact analysis model, the proposed approach represents an advanced synthesis of the paths which have been developing in the literature.

The compensation of top managers and the performance of Italian firms

This paper examines one of the most studied aspects regarding the compensation of top managers: the relationship between remuneration and corporate performance. The principle research objective is to find evidence of this correlation in Italian companies. Based on a sample of 145 Italian companies listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, as analysed during the period between 2004 and 2009, the research findings do not demonstrate a link between company performance and the pay of top managers. Another empirical result that should be highlighted is the presence of a greater correlation between rate of pay and company size, in terms of stock turnover, which demonstrates the likely presence, at least in certain situations, of a dimensional premium that is to the benefit of the managers of larger companies. This research project evidences empirical results in the Italian context that support the findings of the most important international literature on the subject, as regards the absence of a connection between the compensation of managers and the performance of their firms.

Italian firms in emerging markets: relationships and networks for internationalization in Africa

This paper concerns the process of internationalization of Italian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Africa. The African continent is an interesting and valuable emerging target market for the international expansion of Italian companies. Using network theory on internationalization, this paper considers which actors play relevant roles in the penetration of the African market. We determine how the knowledge acquired could be used for growing within the African continent. This paper proposes findings emerging from a cross-case analysis of 18 SMEs and their internationalization strategies in Africa. The main results show that networks play a relevant role in the internationalization of Italian SMEs in Africa, but their constituent relationships are often built on contingencies rather than on deliberate strategies. Only some actors (such as business partners, NGOs, and destination-market institutions) are crucial for internationalization in Africa, while other actors, such as local and national Italian institutions, do not seem to be facilitators for this path of growth. Finally, our findings highlight how in Mediterranean Africa (and only rarely in sub-Saharan Africa), the knowledge acquired in one market is useful for growth in the closest countries to it. We conclude by proposing a taxonomy of potential networks in the African continent.