Research Activity – Faculty of Economics and Law

The Economics Faculty shows a lot of dynamism in research activities, as witnessed by the amount and quality of its scientific products, by the positive outcomes of the first round of national scientific qualification competition, by the results of the evaluation of scientific research products (VQR-Evaluation of the Quality of Research) and by its internationalization level. In the course of time the research activity of the Economics Faculty has been focused on various research projects and has been organized according to different activities strands in terms of issues being dealt with, contents’ interdisciplinary character and internationalization of the scientific products.

As regards the internationalization of research, we wish to highlight to fact that the Faculty devised a strategy of cooperation among the Faculty’s teachers that resulted in the writing down of 2 papers which were jointly signed by the Dean, Marco De Marco, and by the researcher Linda Meleo and by the researcher, Alberto Romolini, whose titles are: 1. The diffusion of ICT In Italian firms, a sectoral comparison ; 2. The sharing economy revolution and peer-to-peer online platforms. The case of Airbnb. These papers were submitted and accepted for discussion in 2 international conferences respectively. The first one is ICTO 2016: Information and Communication Technologies in Organizations and Society, that will be held at the Institut Supérieur du Commerce de Paris-Business School, a Paris, on the 3rd and 4th March 2016. The second one is the International Conference on Exploring Service Science 1.6, that will take place at the University Politehnica of Bucharest, in Bucharest on the 25th – 27th May 2016. Both papers are accepted to be published in Springer volumes, indexed on the Scopus database.

Additionally, we are defining further research activities in cooperation with other European and Non-European Universities. It is to remind that, further to the cooperation activities started since a long time between UNINETTUNO and the teachers of the Al Akhawayn University of Ifrane (Morocco), this cooperation was formalized by an Agreement signed on the 26/01/2016 by the Rector of the International Telematic University UNINETTUNO, Prof. Maria Amata Garito, and by the Rector of the Al Akhawayn University of Ifrane (Morocco), Prof. Driss Ouaouicha, in the presence of the Italian Minister of Education, University and Research, Stefania Giannini, and of the Minister of Higher Education of Morocco, Lahcen Daoudi. This Agreement resulted in the realization of joint educational paths which will also lead at the launch of new cooperation activities in the field of research. In addition, we should also remind an cooperation agreement with the British London School of Business and Finance (LSBF), with the London College of Contemporary Arts (LCCA), and the  Saint Patrick College Business School which are particularly active on a global scale aimed at launching both educational and research activities.
The Faculty developed specific competences on 4 main research strands from which several publication took origin that were published in A-level and Scopus indexed journals:

• Business management and the impact of ICTs on the organizational patterns of businesses and business practices;
• Industrial and applied economics and analysis of economic regulation;
• Public management, public utility and social reporting;
• Development policies and analysis of monetary policies.

As regards the first strand, the work is focused on the deepening of issues linked to the new communication technologies. More specifically, the modes by which the new technologies impact on businesses’ organizational patterns, in terms of strictly considered production processes as well as in terms of the activities carried out in the up-stream and down-stream industry such as the supply and distribution and sale modes. Further studies are devoted to the analysis and spreading of ICTs within businesses with a specific focus on the SMEs and on the role played by the ICT in specific sectors such as the tourism ones.

As it regards the second strand, we acquired competences in research fields that are linked, first of all, to sector analysis, mainly in networked industries, to trans- and extra-industrial competitive dynamics at trans- and extra-European level, to the issues of antitrust, to market regulation and infrastructural policies paying particular attention to markets that were previously under a public monopoly, such as the sector of telecommunications (fix and mobile telephony and Internet, in particular) and the energy sector, mainly those of electrical energy suppliers. More specifically, the analysis mainly deals with modes of accessing infrastructural networks, tariff application methods and all other ex-ante regulatory policies, mainly defined by independent regulatory authorities. Specific research deepening involves also other historically key sector of the Italian and European economy such as, broadly meant, manufacturing, paper, brickworks and aluminum sectors.

High relevance was given also to research issues linked to the relationship existing between company competitive dynamics and environmental regulations, making special reference to emissions permits. Consequently, special attention is devoted to the analysis of the systems of pollution permits, designed at Community level and in force since 2005 and to their significant effects (both on qualitative and quantitative terms) on European energy-intensive companies, above all the paper, electrical and aluminum sectors.

As it regards environmental questions, attention is devoted to the waste sector and to the analysis of the different incentive components identified in Italy and in Europe to attain the objectives of reduction of waste production and recycling scheduled by a set of specific Community directives. Attention, is devoted, in general, to urban waste management methods at national level and to the whole industry related to packaging waste.

Further research interests dealt other aspects related to economic growth and sustainability. It is, more specifically, an analysis of mobility policies and analyses about carbon footprint in national and European urban settings.

Strictly linked to environmental policies, another issue of research being investigated is concerned with energy policies and, in particular, with regulatory and incentive methods used for promoting renewable energies, and more specifically the solar ones.

The third research strand deals with issues related to Public Management and Local Public Utilities starting from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Firstly, studies are conducted based on an economic-business approach paying particular attention to the supervision and management of local territorial agencies (Regions and Municipalities, in the first place) and to healthcare agencies. In the sector of local territorial agencies, these studies focused on accountability and, in particular, on innovative reporting methods. The study of economics in public boards was then extended to the governance perspective, considering the governance function of the local board on the whole system of local public utilities organizations. Many of our recent publications on scientific national and international journals were in this field. More specifically, we conducted a study on the different perceptions that local territorial agency policy and managerial decision-makers have about control tools. Then, the activities focused on healthcare agencies by deepening purchasing and logistics functions, on regional fund-raising systems and, lately, on the healthcare systems of the developing countries. The research strand on the healthcare system currently involves the study of the Albanian healthcare system and a comparative study on regional healthcare plans.

A second research strand involves the study of Corporate Social Responsibility, attaching particular attention to social and sustainability reporting. This study field takes origin from the development of the research work made on the social responsibility of public companies, embracing an international perspective. The main issue is related to the development of models for assessing the quality and reliability of the information supplied by companies through their social reports. The object of study is mainly represented by big listed companies operating in international markets. It is to note that in this field, an international article was recently published on a journal which is classified in the A category by ANVUR, meaning that it has a strong impact.
In particular, the fields of social reporting, object of the latest more-in-depth analysis, were the pharmaceutical and higher education ones. Particular attention was devoted also to the comparative analysis of European, American and Asian experiences of social reporting.

A third research strand entails the study of the History of Accounting, of the thought of the precursors and masters of business economics, of business management and accounting system in an historical perspective. In particular, we privilege the application of an historical method that, through enquiries on historical-accounting archives, allows for retracing the history of a public boards of a company or of a territory from an administrative-accounting perspective.
Finally, we have to mention the deepening of the development policies of some macro-areas at global level, and among them, in South America and South-East Asia in particular. Special attention was devoted also to issues linked to the North-South divides, both at global and Italian level. Further analyses deal with policies for economic growth and budget constraints. Other research interests are linked to issues typical of monetary policies with a specific focus on the Euro area.

Finally, a lot of space was given to issues linked to structural changes of the various economic systems resulting from globalization as well as policies and analyses of the small and medium enterprises and of international processes.
Finally, a lot of space was given to issues linked to structural changes of the various economic systems resulting from globalization as well as policies and analyses of the small and medium enterprises and of internationalization processes.