Search

This research explores the benefits of a proactive model developed through delta normal approach implementation for the forecasting of currency portfolio volatility. The latter becomes a necessity for the Albanian agro exporters as they act in an international trading environment and face the de-Euroization process effects in domestic market. The forecasting of value at risk (VaR) at 99% confidence level is obtained through the implementation of a moving window containing 251 daily currency exchange rates logarithmic returns calculated by the exponentially weighted moving average method (EWMA). A decay factor of 0.94 is used in the simulated currency portfolios database (composed from six different currency positions) pertaining to 30 agro exporters in reference of 2018 year data. The analysis of incremental VaR decomposed in risk per currency unit and VaR contribution concludes that the implementation of this mechanism offers hedge opportunities and enables the agro exporters to undertake even speculative interventions.

This research comes within the framework of behavioral finance and aims at explain high levels of trading volume, the excessive volatility, under and overreaction to news caused by the overconfidence of investors. A market anomaly in a notion of neoclassical theory, affected situations where market conditions would not correspond to the theoretical case of perfect competition encompass perfect rationality . We have thus studied the implication of overconfidence in the French market during the period extending from March2000 to December 2012. The results obtained seem to confirm the overconfidence hypothesis. First, we found that overconfident investors trade more aggressively in periods subsequent to market gains. Second, the analysis of the relation between return volatility and trading volume showed that the excessive trading of overconfident investors makes a contribution to the observed excessive volatility in its conditional measure. However, the overconfidence can’t explain the excessive volatility in its implicit measure, this is due to the incorporation of the risk premium. Third, we showed that overconfident investors overreact to private information and underreact to public information.

The aim of this paper is to assess the quality of services in the public regional hospital of Durres, as one of the most important in Albania, considering that the quality is a key parameter in performance evaluation. Patients are the main actors in appraising and assessing the quality, therefore this study is based on a questionnaire completed by 200 hospitalized patients between July and September, 2015. The survey is based on “SERVQUAL” model using five dimensions of service quality such as: empathy, tangibility, responsiveness, assurance and reliability all essential in measuring the perceptions and expectations of patients in each of them. Data elaboration and processing identify main factors affecting the overall patients’ preferences where the findings in particular demonstrate positive results towards quality services without significant differences between expectations and actual perceptions of patients. In this context conclusion and results found should be taken in considerations as very important aspects for hospital managers and also policy makers when dealing with decisions affecting service quality assessment.

This paper presents the perceptions on distance learning approaches, assessed through an online survey, using experimental design of ideas (Mind Genomics). Students and professors of higher education institutions who had not yet experienced distance learning before COVID-19 pandemic period participated in the study. The participants belong to the universities located in Mediterranean basin, e.g., Albania, Italy, Morocco, Algeria and few African countries. Results suggest that distance learning will shift many of the responsibilities formerly on the professors to those of the students. The data suggests the need for emotional support during this transition, specifically to maintain interaction among students and professor as well as among students themselves in distance learning platforms as in traditional classrooms. The study shows that the effectiveness and the interactivity of this new paradigm are very important and any further developments of distance learning should provide strong support for these components. The position of the professor is indispensable as the guide to the entire process, suggesting that at least at the time of this writing (2020) distance learning approach is perceived only to be an intermittent complementary path to in-person interactions.

In a strongly globalized world, characterized by high dynamism and turbulence, many economies including the Italian one are trying to get over the deep international crisis that unfortunately did not spare the Euro area, whose solidity is, therefore, seriously endangered. Nevertheless, it was noted that within the international economic environment, in the recent past, some economies, notably the BRICS countries’ (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) have recorded, over the last decade, significant growth in terms of GDP, thus contrasting the current trend and making up for several positions in the world rankings that measure the development of economies. Lately, however, the drive behind these economies is slowing as well, while there is evidence of the emergence of new countries on the international scene, whose development seemed inconceivable a few years ago, namely that of the countries covered by the MINT acronym (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey). The present work aims at investigating these new emerging economies, in order to understand first of all, if they can somehow retrace the route taken by the BRICS. Secondly, once identified the pluses of the MINT countries, it would be convenient to understand whether these countries may share any common points and thus represent a new model of economic development. In this case, such a model could be implemented in some way, at least in some respects, in the government policies of the major countries under recession, while the opening up to foreign investment in these countries could represent a fortunate chance for those companies, in this case the Italian ones, that are currently looking at international relocation as the only weapon at their disposal to ensure their own survival.

The alignment of strategy with organizations structure, process and environment is at the heart of contingency theories. However, transition and dynamically changing environment are challenging the existing models of “strategic fit”. In this paper we explore the issue by applying the seminal model of Miles and Snow (1978) to a panel of 160 multinational enterprises, focusing on the level of centralization/decentralization of various strategic types. We find that the among prospectors, defenders, analyzers and reactors there are almost no differences in the level of centralization of various processes, which is not consistently related to organizational strategies predicted by Miles and Snow. The findings raise the question of evolving organizational structures of MNEs which would be able to respond to the changing environment.

The object of the present study is to analyse in the first place the evolution of the telecommunications market in Italy, as well as the benefits to users, as a result of the liberalisation process occurred. Afterwards, the paper will investigate into the competitors’ activity and the difficulties encountered in the current competitive scenario characterised by a deep financial crisis affecting the euro area. In this view, the Italian market will be analysed by focusing on the former monopolist, namely Telecom, whose new organisational and corporate structure, as well as its development strategies both in the domestic and international market are examined in the light of its privatisation.

The current wine sector is characterized by two main producers’ groups adopting contrasting management philosophies: the EU traditional producers (Italy and France in the lead) that “sell off to produce” and “The new World of wine” producers (the USA, Australia, etc.) that “produce to sell”. These trends influence each other both strategically and operatively. New small producers like Eastern Europe countries (Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Ukraine and Albania) are emerging lately. In the light of the above scenario, the present work is aimed the present paper aims, first, at highlighting an overview of such factors as the evolution of production, both quantitatively and qualitatively as well as the organization and trade worldwide involving the leading producers (with particular reference to the Italian market) and, subsequently, at assessing the impact of the current world economic crisis on the sector, influencing, as a fact, the entrepreneurs’ production and marketing strategies in the present competitive scene. Afterwards, attention will be focused mainly on the evolution of consumers’ attitudes as to alcoholic drinks consumption in two particularly dynamic markets as those involving two world superpowers, namely the USA and Russia. Thus, through analysing the official data available about wine current production and consumption in the two countries, a comparison will be made aimed at pointing out their own peculiarities and distinguishing features. Lastly, starting from the results of the above analysis and after selecting the different typologies of consumers characterising the two markets, the most suitable competitive strategies to be adopted will be examined, concerning organization as well as production and distribution, that have been carried out by the world major exporters (Italy in the lead) to make their way in these markets representing, especially in view of the growing trend expected for the near future, a remarkable source of profit for those companies that will be able to survive the international crisis.

The present work starts with the observation of the current international crisis that has not spared the business world, affecting mainly the industrial sector. Thus, companies are now more than ever called upon to ensure their competitiveness by meeting some critical success factors that are not only related to quality and product innovation, but also to the production efficiency which can be achieved through minimizing both production and delivery costs. The difficulty of combining the fulfilment of these objectives which seem to be in contrast with each other, has led companies to experiment different management philosophies to find the most suitable to be adopted in the competitive scene in which they operate, and aimed at ensuring the best business performance in the medium-long term. As a result, the research aims, first, at investigating whether there are management philosophies that are able to meet these objectives, supported by operational approaches that are compatible with their basic criteria; secondly, it is meant to assess whether these models may cover the whole industrial sector rather than a single sector alone, as well as whether they can be used in both large companies and SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) and, finally, whether they can be extended to service companies as well.

The globalisation of markets has called for, among others, two complementary requirements: on the one hand, the need to develop policies that are able to attract FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) by a number of transition economies, in order to boost the economic growth of the countries concerned and reduce the technological and socio-economic gap that separates them from the industrialised economies; on the other, the priority choice for companies to promote internationalisation, that is now considered as a necessary step to safeguard their competitiveness.In particular, the analysis carried out starts with the evolution of the Balkan market, by collecting and describing the macroeconomic data concerning the four Western Balkans countries (Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia), representing those economies that are likely to join the EU in the coming years following the process started (official candidacy or accession negotiations).Thus, the first part of the present paper aims at describing and analysing the operational and strategic behaviour of Italian companies, as well as their process of internationalisation in the abovementioned economies.The analysis was carried out through submitting a questionnaire to managers and employees of companies operating in the Balkans; the results highlighted the main areas of the companies’ international management decision-making process (internationalisation decision, operating methods adopted and the results achieved).Afterwards, the second part of the research sets the focus on the attractiveness degree reached in the area, following the reforms made by local governments that helped in improving the business climate, leading many Italian investors to operate in that area.

The necessity to manage the debts capacity within Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SMEs) remains pivotal to their solvency and growth potentiality, especially in trading sector. Therefore through a ROC Curve analysis there were identified the discriminative variables (organized in four indicators groups such as: liquidity, turnover, structure and return) pertaining to a panel of 62 SME’s with performing and not status (default ratio of 50%) by referring to the 2013-2014 period.The latest, excluding the others indicators confirms that total debt to equity, total assets to shareholder’s equity and long term assets to shareholder’s equity can better do it. In addition, a regression analysis is used to estimate the impact of the above mentioned discriminative variables on SME’s debts management capacity in the quality of a performance measure (pertaining to liquidity indicators group). Under these circumstances it was evidenced that the variables that positively impact SME’s performance are: equity to total debts, long term assets to shareholder’s equity as well as return on equity.Referring to the Albanian economical structure, undoubtedly these results give some hope signals regarding SME’s development strategy being that they can contemporary contribute in the country’s GDP growth by good performing in micro level.

International business literature often associates company performance with a wide range of phenomena. However, MNE subsidiary performance is to a certain extent idiosyncratic, often too specific to conform to generalised observations. A consensus on the exact nature of subsidiary performance has yet to be achieved, although various approaches to assessment have been suggested. This contribution examines subjective MNE subsidiary performance measurement as a particular indicator of overall subsidiary performance. Using a sample of 249 MNE subsidiaries, it compares subjective and objective performance measures and explores the specifics of the subjective subsidiary performance evaluation. The results indicate that subjective and objective performance measures might not correlate in MNE subsidiaries, although such a correlation is often anticipated. Furthermore, it reveals the main obstacles to subjective performance assessment in subsidiaries. A summary of matters that should be taken into consideration when evaluating subsidiary performance is provided and promising directions for future research are suggested.

The current wine sector is characterised by two main producers’ groups adopting contrasting management philosophies: the EU traditional producers (Italy and France in the lead) that ‘sell off to produce’ and ‘The New World of wine’ producers (the USA, Australia, etc.) that ‘produce to sell’. These trends influence each other both strategically and operatively. New small producers like Eastern Europe countries (Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Ukraine and Albania) are emerging lately. In light of the above scenario, the present work is aimed at answering the following questions: Which management philosophy have these emerging countries adopted to develop production? Can a new management model be assumed to develop production, or rather, can the former be compared to one of the above-mentioned models? What are the prospects for the near future in these countries, with special reference to Albania? Are they likely to be strong enough to change the balance of the wine sector internationally?

The motor industry is suffering more than other sectors from the effects of the current international crisis with a widespread drop in sales affecting almost all the main world producers, due to two factors that can be described as follows. On one side, the shrinkage in family per capita income inducing the consumer to spend less on luxury goods (like cars); on the other one, the high upkeep of cars because of a sharp increase in the cost of fuel, of insurance as well as of road tax, particularly in some European countries (like Italy). In addition to this ruinous economic situation reducing the car producing companies’ receipts, the high costs to be borne to renew the industrial plants in compliance with the environmental regulations as well as to design products that are able to meet the consumer's changing needs led motor companies to reorganise their competitive strategies with growing attention, as compared to the past, to a kind of strategy oriented to “innovation and flexibility”, allowing the design of new high technology products that are environment-friendly and energy saving with low selling prices compared to the quality offered. In particular, these goals can be achieved by implementing such strategies as those pursued by some producers in recent years: significant mergers with other car companies aimed at combining their individual peculiarities in order to properly widen the range of products offered; production relocation to emerging countries in order to profit from low costs of raw materials and labour to minimise production costs; boosting research and development to design cars that are able to run with alternative energy sources; re-launching neglected brands through creative promotional campaigns that are likely to stir up new emotions in the consumer.As a result, the present work is mainly intended to analyse the strategic evolution of one of the most ancient motor companies on the international scene, namely Peugeot, to weigh up the situation, on the occasion of its bicentenary, about the innovative ideas brought into the market, the kind of organisational structure adopted within the company itself, as well as the future prospects of the transalpine firm. In particular, after a rapid historical survey of the firm, the paper is going to assess whether the strategic choices made are able to meet the above-mentioned successful factors, in order to assume the possible result that the new models suggested are likely to achieve on the consumer market.Afterwards, the most suitable organisational structure to be adopted to support the strategic choices made in the present market conditions will be examined; finally, the dissertation will end by comparing such internationalisation strategies with those implemented by the transalpine competitor, namely Fiat, in order to assume which of the two strategic choices could turn out to be the most performing one in the future.

Purpose of this study is to describe main reporting tools at the basis of the ethical-social sphere of the company, aimed at concretely representing the activities promoted in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility, creating cohesion between different aspects, linked to company dynamics. The concept of CSR is spread as a strategic tool aimed at creating a more competitive and socially cohesive society. Based on the main theoretical concepts in support of sustainability and CSR and, in relation to the company's strategic choices, the urgent need for companies to communicate their "sustainable" commitment. This is how they are born a series of documents related to non financial reporting, which tend to split the different aspects of the concept of sustainability and CSR using different interpretations. From this study, based on the main economic theories that led to the creation of real non-financial reporting models, a complete vision derives from these reporting tools, whose main function is expressed in the "measurement" of corporate performance. sustainable, through the adoption of internationally known reference models (GRI Standard- Global Reporting Initiative). Specifically, the explanation of the models adopted focuses on the Sustainability Reports (Non-Financial Statements) prepared in 2017 by a small sample of Italian companies, operating in the fashion sector, listed on the Milan Stock Exchange. The analyzed documents reported a series of information, the source of a research activity aimed at different aspects (stakeholder involvement, certifications acquired, Governance, environmental protection, etc.); the purpose is to understand how this document and therefore, the information contained therein, affect the company's economic activities, influencing different aspects (quality of the products offered, satisfaction of the interlocutors) and how much "importance" is given to today sustainable information and the communication of this type of information, in the national economic scenario