The large business firm and its ownership structure represents the general subject of this book; the peculiarities of the Italian case its specific focus. A considerable international literature has developed on the relationships between ownership and control, but most of the studies are focused on the large diffusely owned firm that dominates in the "market based" systems, and in particular in the United States. Less attention has been given to the other advanced nations where ownership is not diffuse but concentrated ("large shareholders" systems), even though in the last few years research on this topic has increased. The present book aims at providing a contribution to current research on concentrated ownership. In particular, it presents an overview of the recent evolution of Italian corporate governance system, focusing mainly on the ownership and control structure of Italian large firms and on the changes in the legal and institutional framework relating to financial market. The traditional characteristics of the Italian governance system are currently under debate in Italy. Some literature, has, in fact, underlined how this traditional features represent a constraint on firms’ growth. In order to overcome a possible lack of firms’ competitive advantage, in a global world where firms’ size is a fundamental key of success, a solution could be the development of a more efficient capital market able to foster firms’ growth. Following the “law and finance” view, that states the presence of a link between the development of financial systems and the level of investors’ protection, in the last few years, Italy has seen many changes in the legal and institutional environment, in order to ensure a better protection to minority shareholders. Italian corporate governance system is experimenting a process of transformation, but whether this process will lead towards a more market-oriented system remains unclear. In any case, at the moment, the main characteristics are still in place.
Proprietà e governo delle grandi imprese in Italia
PROFUMO, GIORGIA
2008-01-01
Abstract
The large business firm and its ownership structure represents the general subject of this book; the peculiarities of the Italian case its specific focus. A considerable international literature has developed on the relationships between ownership and control, but most of the studies are focused on the large diffusely owned firm that dominates in the "market based" systems, and in particular in the United States. Less attention has been given to the other advanced nations where ownership is not diffuse but concentrated ("large shareholders" systems), even though in the last few years research on this topic has increased. The present book aims at providing a contribution to current research on concentrated ownership. In particular, it presents an overview of the recent evolution of Italian corporate governance system, focusing mainly on the ownership and control structure of Italian large firms and on the changes in the legal and institutional framework relating to financial market. The traditional characteristics of the Italian governance system are currently under debate in Italy. Some literature, has, in fact, underlined how this traditional features represent a constraint on firms’ growth. In order to overcome a possible lack of firms’ competitive advantage, in a global world where firms’ size is a fundamental key of success, a solution could be the development of a more efficient capital market able to foster firms’ growth. Following the “law and finance” view, that states the presence of a link between the development of financial systems and the level of investors’ protection, in the last few years, Italy has seen many changes in the legal and institutional environment, in order to ensure a better protection to minority shareholders. Italian corporate governance system is experimenting a process of transformation, but whether this process will lead towards a more market-oriented system remains unclear. In any case, at the moment, the main characteristics are still in place.
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