IULM University of Milan

About: IULM University of Milan is a education organization based out in Milan, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Tourism & Context (language use). The organization has 192 authors who have published 507 publications receiving 10465 citations. The organization is also known as: Libera Università di Lingue e Comunicazione & Libera Universita di Lingue e Comunicazione.

Family Involvement in Ownership and Management: Exploring Nonlinear Effects on Performance

Abstract: Research on the performance of family firms is growing, but results are mixed, especially for nonlisted companies. Thus, on the basis of the co-presence of benefits and disadvantages of family involvement in ownership and management, we explored the presence of nonlinear effects of these two variables on performance. We run regression analyses on data drawn from 620 privately held family fi rms in Italy: An egative quadratic relationship between family involvement in management and performance was found, but we did not find any association between family involvement in ownership and performance. Our results suggest that in privately held fi rms the positive effects that previous literature associates with the presence of family managers do not appear strong enough to compensate for the disadvantages deriving from an onmonetary goal orientation, nor do they compensate for the costs deriving from the need to solve conf licts between family managers and the impossibility of enlarging the company’s social and intellectual capital through the employment of nonfamily managers. Moreover, the quadratic nature of the relationship calls for greater attention to be paid to these effects by family business owners, especially in those cases where family involvement in management is high.

Privacy calculus model in e-commerce – a study of Italy and the United States

Abstract: This study examines cross-cultural differences beliefs related to e-commerce use for Italy and the United States. We argue that for both cultures, the user's decision to make an online purchase is simultaneously influenced by a set of contrary factors. These include decision facilitators such as propensity to trust and institutional trust, and decision inhibitors such as perceived risk and privacy concerns. We argue that substantial cultural differences exist that affect the above factors and the relationships among them. We use Hofstede's cultural theory and Fukuyama's theory of trust and social capital, along with emic factors important for the Italian society, to develop the study's propositions. The hypotheses were empirically tested using LISREL structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis. The results revealed that the Italian society exhibited lower propensity to trust, institutional trust, privacy concerns, and higher perceived risk. The relationships between institutional trust and e-commerce use, privacy concerns and e-commerce use, and perceived risk and institutional trust are all weaker for Italy. The relationship between perceived risk and privacy concerns is stronger for Italy. The paper's major contribution is in validating an important model of e-commerce use across two cultures and showing the moderating effects of culture.

Resource orchestration in family firms: investigating how entrepreneurial orientation, generational involvement, and participative strategy affect performance

Abstract: Drawing on the process of resource orchestration, we argue a co-alignment of multiple factors is needed for family firms to increase performance through entrepreneurship. Specifically, we posit that entrepreneurial orientation provides the mobilizing vision to use the heterogeneous yet complementary knowledge and experiences offered by increased generational involvement toward entrepreneurship. However, without a coordinating mechanism, generational involvement leads to conflict and negative outcomes. When, instead, it is also coordinated via a participative strategy, performance gains are achieved. In sum, results suggest that realizing the benefits from entrepreneurship in family firms is a complicated matter affected by the synchronization of entrepreneurial orientation, generational involvement, and participative strategy. Copyright © 2011 Strategic Management Society.

The role of family ownership in international entrepreneurship: exploring nonlinear effects

Abstract: Empirical research on international entrepreneurship is growing, but results on the role of family ownership in this phenomenon are inconsistent. We believe these inconsistencies owe to prior researchers having not yet investigated nonlinear relationships. Drawing on opposing perspectives of stewardship and stagnation, we explore potential benefits and drawbacks of family ownership for international entrepreneurship and explore nonlinear relationships among these two variables. Using a sample of 1,035 US family businesses and applying ordinal regression analysis, we find an inverted U-shaped relationship between family ownership and international entrepreneurship: International entrepreneurship is maximized when family ownership stands at moderate levels. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory and practice and indicate avenues for future research.