This paper investigates the relationship between investment and internal finance by addressing two recent topics within the theory of imperfect capital markets: the financial accelerator hypothesis and the controversy over the source of the investment-cash flow sensitivity. Using a panel of...

Conventional explanations of diversification and multinationality both point to size/growth related motives and firm-specific intangible assets as the driving forces. However, previous empirical studies have rarely exploited this commonality by investigating multinationality and diversification...

This paper provides empirical evidence on how EU leading firms adjusted to European economic integration with respect to the following strategic variables: entry/exit decisions in the product/geographic space (diversification/multinationality). A novel dataset, including detailed information on...

This paper investigates whether financial pressure has an impact on the performance of state-owned firms. By combining different theoretical frameworks, we explore the conditions under which debt discipline becomes effective even for state firms. Using a panel of 1318 Italian state and private...

Conventional explanations of diversification and multinationality both point to the existence of intangible assets as a driving force. Using a new database of leading EU firms in 100 NACE 3-digit industries, we devise a classificatory scheme which allows us to analyze multinationality and...

We investigate implications for the cost of capital in a model with agency conflicts between inside and outside shareholders, where the severity of agency costs depends on a parameter representing investor protection. Using firm-level data for Italy and Germany we find significant differences in...

Building on the current theory of industrial concentration, we analyze the relation between market size and product differentiation, and show how product differentiation impacts market share turbulence. Our basic results highlight that in markets where vertical product differentiation dominates,...

This study provides empirical evidence on the relationship between dividend payout ratios, executive compensation and agency costs in Italy. Corporate governance in Italy is distinguished by the fact that a large number of Italian firms are family controlled, which may theoretically reduce...