A taste of Sicily during the symposium.

A taste of Sicily during the symposium. Giambattista Dagnino, one of the organizers, and Rosario Faraci, one of the panelists, are both from Sicily, one of the most beautiful and touristic islands in the world, located in the Southern Italy. The two Sicilian academics offered the attendees some "torroncini", products made by tender and soft paste with almonds and pistachios, covered of plain chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, oranges and lemons. These products are handmade manufactured by Fiasconaro brothers (see the website: http://www.fiasconaro.com/). Martino, Nicola and Fausto inherited the artisan confectionery art by their father, Mario. Then they decided to spread the ancient and new tastes in a context wider than their local territory, opening their activity to new technologies, though always respecting scrupulously the principles of the traditional artisan production and the typical Sicilian tastes. So, corporate governance and strategic management at AOM2008 has been melted with the most authentic Sicilian spirit brought by Giambattista Dagnino and Rosario Faraci.

The Journal of Management and Governance announces a special issue related to the Symposium

The Journal of Management and Governance, published by Springer Verlag, sponsored by AIDEA, the Italian Academy of Management, will devote a special issue to the topics of the Symposium. Professor Roberto Di Pietra, the Editor-in-Chief, made this important announcement during the symposium and he presented also the ARCA award for the 2009 best paper published on JMG (the prize is valuable Euro 2,500). Arturo Capasso, one of the organizers, and Wei Shen, one of the discussants, will run the special issue as Guest Editors. The deadline is November 30, 2008. The call for papers is available on the website of the Journal of Management and Governance (on Springer Verlag) and on the website related to the symposium (http://www.governanceandstrategyaom2008.net/)

The discussants: Wei Shen and Costas Markides.

The two invited discussants made a great job and they added a considerable and significant value to the five presented papers. Wei Shen (University of Florida) and Costas Markides (London Business School) offered two different, but complemented, perspectives on how the presented studies can be analyzed and further results can be drawn. Wei Shen looked at the corporate governance perspective, focusing on how ownership structure, corporate governance and strategic decisions are striclty interconnected. He analzyed also the impacts of the international contexts and of the globalization on ownership, governance and strategy. Costas Markides stressed more the importance of the strategy and on how changes in the competitive environment may enhance or riduce the importance of the governance mechanisms. He said that the presented papers identify some new (and creative) themes that the literature ought to explore further.

The fifth presenter: Bob Hoskisson.

"Agents (Inside Directors) Watching Other Agents (Investment Bankers and VCs): Multiple Agency Conflict Regarding Underpricing in IPO Firms" was the title of a presentation made by Bob Hoskisson (Arizona State University). The paper is part of a stream of research that involved several Authors, including Lowell Busenitz. The paper has been published on the Academy of Management Journal (vol.51, n.2/2008). The study is about initial public offerings and it focused on the IPO process where, according to the Agency Theory, agents watch other agents in the underpricing. A set of seven hypotheses on a sample of 400 IPOs during 1990-1995 has been tested. Less then 20 control variables have been provided. Three of the seven hypotheses have not been supported. Since the paper develops theory to address when underpricing will be more or less severe, it received remarkable attention and interest during the discussion.

The fourth presenter: Lowell Busenitz

"Governance, Signaling and the Acquisition of IPO Ventures" was the title of the paper presented by Lowell Busenitz (University of Oklahoma). It is a study conducted by the presenter and other three Co-Authors: Jason Harkins, Richard Johnson and Robert Hoskisson about the importance of anti-takeover provisions and other strategic signals potentially indicating acquisition activity within five years of IPO. A set of seven hypotheses on a sample of 258 tech-based IPO ventures has been provided. Six of the seven hypotheses have been supported. Results have showed that anti-takeover mechanisms are not deterrents to IPO takeover and key manager/owners want greater control over firm outcomes.

The third presenter: Rosario Faraci

"The Governance of Transition in European Firms" was the third presentation released by Rosario Faraci (University of Catania). The paper focused on how corporate governance matters for firms in transitions, those firms experiencing evolving patterns of monitoring, control and financing in different stages of their growth. According to the Italian presenter, firms in transition in Europe are state-owned enterprises going to be privatized in various steps, family businesses ready to be taken over by the next generation, and the entrepreneurial treshold firms. Preliminary results of an inductive study in progress have been provided. The Europe, both Western and Eastern regions, shows a significant numbers of firms in transition among the privately-held and the government-held companies.

The second presenter: Kathy Harrigan.

"Corporate Governance:Comparing United States and Japanese Boards of Directors" was the title of the second paper, presented by Kathryn Harrigan (Columbia University). The Author presented an inductive study about divergent opinions of directors and top managers of some Japanese and US firms on how corporate governance works, looking particularly at negative or positive effects. An interesting set of descriptive statistics has been provided by Professor Kathy Harrigan which emphasized how opinions and perceptions of governance forms may differ significantly in the US and Japanese firms, mainly companies listed in their respective stock exchanges markets. The presentation of Professor Harrigan got a remarkable attention and interest during the discussion led by Costas Markides and Wei Shen.

The first presenter: Arturo Capasso.

"Strategic Management and Corporate Governance: Good Theories and Bad Practices Across the Atlantic" was the title of the presentation made by Arturo Capasso (presenter) and Giovanni Battista Dagnino, the two organizers of the symposium. The paper primarily relied on the possible integration of the strategic and the governance functions of firms. Looking at the institutional, normative and cultural contexts of firms, the two Authors explained how the strategic and the governance functions can interact and how the relationships path is moderated by firm financing, entrepreneurial endowment and managerial skills. Some longitudinal case studies enriched the research provided by the two Italian Co-Authors.

Giambattista Dagnino: The rule of two...worked!

During his presentation, Giambattista Dagnino, one of the symposium's organizers, illustrated the "rule of two" that shaped the organization of this event. Two basic themes: corporate governance and strategic management. Two Organizers: Giambattista and Arturo. Two Discussants: Wei Shen and Costas Markides. Two ways of looking at corporate governance and strategic management: contexts and concepts. But, even two animals used as metaphors of corporate governance and strategic management: the fox and the lion, according to Machiavelli's idea of their interaction. And, finally, the paradox of two: the chicken and the egg. Who was the first?

Room 201D at the Convention Center: The Symposium started at 12.20 pm

The symposium organized by Arturo Capasso and Giovanni Battista Dagnino has started at 12.20 pm, located at the room 201D at the Convention Center. It finished on time at 2.10 pm. Panelists have been Kathy Harrigan, Bob Hoskisson, Rosario Faraci and Lowell Busenitz. Discussants: Wei Shen and Costas Markides. About 30 people attended the symposium and among them Ken Smith, the President, and Angelo DeNisi, the incoming President of the Academy of Management. In addition, Peter Ring, the former Program Chair of the Strategic Management Society Annual Meeting attended the symposium. Attendees joined from US, Canadian, Chinese, Japanese, Brasilian, Dutch, Swiss and Italian Universities. Roberto Di Pietra, the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Management and Governance, announced the special issue of the journal related to the symposium and the 2009 award for the best paper published on JMG.