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Supply chain risk is a strategic issue for managing multinational companies, and Covid-19 has shown the relevance of this type of risk for the firm’s survival probability. The market may perceive the choice of replacing some of the main customers or suppliers as an increase or a decrease of the risk based on the features of the new supply chain members, and markets tend to penalize companies that increase their exposure to unaffordable events. During the pandemic, many supply chains suffered from glitches and companies were obliged to redefine their network by selecting their new strategic customers and/or suppliers. The paper evaluates the supply chain composition strategies of a set of multinational companies based in the US during the last decade. It highlights the differences in supply chain management behavior before and during the pandemic. Data collected allow testing the impact on the stock market performance of modifying the supply chain network by adding new members that may have a different level of risk. Results show that the market reaction to supply chain updates changed after the Covid-19, and nowadays there is greater attention on the credit risk of the new companies entering the supply chain.

La crisi pandemica ha stravolto il modo di vivere dei cittadini modificando l'ordine di priorità degli individui nelle loro scelte di investimento immobiliare e ha messo in evidenza i problemi dello sviluppo immobiliare degli ultimi decenni, che ha privilegiato la location rispetto alla qualità dell'immobile, spesso inseguendo modelli insediativi insostenibili, diffusi se non di-spersi. Il lockdown e lo smart working hanno evidenziato l'esigenza di ripensare l'abitare e di conseguenza il patrimonio immobiliare, privilegiando dimensione e qualità piuttosto che sol-tanto la location. In questo scenario, la rigenerazione urbana rappresenta uno strumento privi-legiato di intervento, anche se quasi sempre demandato all'iniziativa degli operatori privati. Sulla base di un'analisi combinata economico-urbanistica, l'articolo evidenzia le opportunità che la rigenerazione urbana può (e deve) avere sul mercato immobiliare e sulla società e quali devono essere allora i meccanismi di (buon) governo del territorio da parte delle istituzioni pubbliche per raggiungere un ragionevole equilibrio tra interesse collettivo e interesse privato (senza demonizzare la rendita).

In light of multiple motivations for the use of trade credit, firms tend to supply and receive trade credit at the same time, so the choice to engage in one of these activities could influence the other. Many studies proposed in the literature define models of trade credit and provide empirical evidence, looking mainly at only one aspect of trade policy at a time. The few studies comparing gross and net exposure models are based on a limited set of variables or on a limited time horizon. In the context of one of the more relevant world markets (Italy), this paper compares models for gross and net exposure, demonstrating a significant difference in the statistical fitness of the two models and in the characteristics of the explanatory variables. The results demonstrate the existence of a strict relationship between trade credit and debt choices and suggest some unique features of net models compared to gross ones.

Ruigork et al. (2007) find a positive relationship between the number of foreign members on the boards and financial performance. Marimuthu (2008) gains the same results: in a study of a sample of Malaysian companies, he finds a positive relationship between financial performance (measured in terms of ROA) and the presence of foreign members on the board. In a study carried out on a sample of Portuguese banks between 1996 and 2004, Guerreiro (2006) highlights a negative relationship between operating costs incurred by banks and the presence of foreign board members, and between the percentage of foreign nationals and the margin of interest recorded by the banks, demonstrating that foreign directors have a positive impact on operational efficiency and the profitability of the core business. There are fewer contributions in literature which look at the impact of diversity on the operating performance of the BoD. Gul et al. (2008), in a study carried out on US companies between 2001 and 2003, show that companies with a higher percentage of women on the board demand more commitment from their audit committees (ACs) in the execution of their tasks. The authors underline that such contribution is higher in circumstances of information asymmetry, organizational complexity and in the presence of the so-called ‘ethic dilemma’, which can be defined as a situation which implies a conflict between different moral imperatives, where the choice of one implies the transgression of another. Peterson and Philpot (2007) and Adams and Ferreira (2009) also note that female board members are more likely to take part in audit and nomination committees, while, in contrast to men, they are less interested in chairing the remuneration committee; this thus demonstrates women’s propensity towards monitoring activities. Moreover, Adams and Ferreira (2004, 2009) underline that in companies with a higher percentage of women on the board, control activities are carried out more assiduously through more frequent meetings of the committee, the control over the activities of the CEO is more rigorous (through a more frequent turnover of the top management) and there is greater alignment with the interests of the shareholders (through a fairer remuneration system and greater incentives linked to company performance). The authors therefore state that the effect of female board members on the efficiency of BoD operations can be compared to that of the independent board members proposed in theory. Similar results are also recorded by Peterson et al. (2007), who in a study carried out on US companies belonging to Fortune 500, underline that Afro-American board members are more likely to chair ACs and the executive committee compared to white male board members, while Afro-American women are more likely to take part in the financial committee compared to non-Afro-American women. This underlines how race and gender are determining aspects for the allocation of tasks within the board. Ararat et al. (2010) reach the same results as Peterson et al. (2007), demonstrating the existence of a positive relationship between the presence of women in BoDs and control: more women lead to a greater number of board and committee meetings, on average longer meetings, better quality of reporting and more intense disclosure activities, all demonstrating more and better monitoring activities.