Papers by Antonella Cicchiello
Journal of The Knowledge Economy, 2021
The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of financial inclusion in the least deve... more The purpose of this paper is to examine the determinants of financial inclusion in the least developed countries in Asia and Africa. We used World Bank data to estimate the probit econometric technique in the studied countries. The results show that young people and women are groups excluded from financial inclusion and that education and income are two of the key pillars for increasing financial inclusion. Furthermore, the results reveal that a higher level of financial inclusion increases the level of official savings in countries, which in turn promotes their development. The findings of this study are beneficial for policymakers in the least developed countries to promote innovative approaches to enhance the involvement of excluded people in formal finance.
International Journal of Technology Management & Sustainable Development
This article aims to investigate the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by larg... more This article aims to investigate the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by large companies in low- and middle-income countries in Asia and Africa, and the company characteristics that influence them to undertake such new sustainability reporting practices. Logistic regression analyses were applied to combine the data extracted from the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database and the Orbis database from Bureau van Dijk. The empirical results indicate that characteristics like the type of company, its economic performance and its engagement in voluntary sustainability programmes and external assurance are positively related to the adoption of SDG reporting. The results also show that some corporate, organizational and performance characteristics increase companies’ likelihood to adopt SDG reporting. Drawing on agency theory and legitimacy theory perspectives, this article contributes to the academic and practical understanding of factors infl...
Gender in Management: An International Journal
Purpose Women’s entrepreneurial activity can significantly impact economic and social development... more Purpose Women’s entrepreneurial activity can significantly impact economic and social development globally, particularly in developing countries. The significant challenges entrepreneurial women face draw the attention of researchers and policymakers. This paper aims to analyse the impact of gender disparity on the likelihood of obtaining equity financing through crowdfunding. The equity crowdfunding industry was selected because it is a non-traditional financial market where gender bias may act differently for women. Design/methodology/approach To investigate the relationship between gender and equity financing through crowdfunding, this paper applies ordinary least squares regression. The analysis is based on a unique data set of 492 equity crowdfunding campaigns launched between 2013 and 2017 on all existing platforms in Brazil, Chile and Mexico. Findings The analysis reveals that the involvement of at least one woman on the board of firms seeking equity financing increases campa...
International Journal of Social Ecology and Sustainable Development
This study aims to investigate the key company characteristics which influence the adoption of su... more This study aims to investigate the key company characteristics which influence the adoption of sustainability reporting practices. The study uses a Logit model based on a sample of 366 large Asian and African companies which have addressed the SDGs in their sustainability reports published in 2017. The results suggest that large companies in the low- and middle-income countries which used SDGs have specific characteristics such as a higher market-to-book value (Tobin’s q) and higher adoption of external assurance for their reports. The results also show that having women and younger directors in the company’s management structure is positively related to the adoption of the SDG reporting. Contrarily from previous studies, the industry sector does not have strong influences on the use of sustainability reporting. The paper provides support to the challenges faced by the boards of directors of large Asian and African companies in ensuring their increasing engagement in sustainability ...
Gender in Management: An International Journal
Purpose Women’s entrepreneurial activity can significantly impact economic and social development... more Purpose Women’s entrepreneurial activity can significantly impact economic and social development globally, particularly in developing countries. The significant challenges entrepreneurial women face draw the attention of researchers and policymakers. This paper aims to analyse the impact of gender disparity on the likelihood of obtaining equity financing through crowdfunding. The equity crowdfunding industry was selected because it is a non-traditional financial market where gender bias may act differently for women. Design/methodology/approach To investigate the relationship between gender and equity financing through crowdfunding, this paper applies ordinary least squares regression. The analysis is based on a unique data set of 492 equity crowdfunding campaigns launched between 2013 and 2017 on all existing platforms in Brazil, Chile and Mexico. Findings The analysis reveals that the involvement of at least one woman on the board of firms seeking equity financing increases campa...
Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing
Purpose The economic shock posed by the current COVID-19 outbreak brought out a worldwide public ... more Purpose The economic shock posed by the current COVID-19 outbreak brought out a worldwide public health emergency with a close relationship between the industrial marketing practices, the health level of society and its economic development. The purpose of this study is to analyse the industrial dynamics in health care and their impact on economic growth and health status. Design/methodology/approach To empirically investigate the relationship between growth and health, the authors use a data set drawn from 29 selected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries over the period 2000 and 2019. Using panel regressions, the authors investigate the impact of the health-care industry measured in terms of health status, health expenditure, sales on pharmaceutical products, the number of persons working in health care and the coverage by private health insurances. Fixed effect and random effect regressions are used to estimate this model. Findings Overall, the r...
Gender in Management: An International Journal
Purpose This study aims to investigate the influence of organisations’ board gender diversity on ... more Purpose This study aims to investigate the influence of organisations’ board gender diversity on the adoption of the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs) and on the use of external assurance. Design/methodology/approach The paper combines data from the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Disclosure Database and the Orbis database from Bureau van Dijk. The study uses logit models based on a sample of 366 large Asian and African companies which have addressed the SDGs in their sustainability reports published in 2017. Findings The results reveal that board gender diversity is positively associated with sustainability reporting and the involvement of an external assurance provider. Originality/value This study adds to the growing literature on the relationship between women’s participation on corporate boards and SDG reporting. Additionally, it addresses the understudied question of how the gender diversity of board resources affects the adoption of the external...
International Journal of Emerging Markets
PurposeThe purpose of this paper aims to understand whether gender disparity has an impact on the... more PurposeThe purpose of this paper aims to understand whether gender disparity has an impact on the likelihood of obtaining equity crowdfunding financing in Latin America.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a unique database of 492 projects from different equity crowdfunding platforms in Latin America over a period of 2013–2017.FindingsResults indicate that the involvement of at least one woman in the board of firms seeking equity financing increases campaigns' success significantly. Team gender has no impact on the project's likelihood to experience overfunding.Originality/valueThe paper sheds light on women's access to crowdfunding financing in Latin America, not yet considered so far.
Journal of the Knowledge Economy
Given the increasing concern for the global environmental issues and the relating need for preser... more Given the increasing concern for the global environmental issues and the relating need for preservation of the ecosystem, sustainability reporting has become more and more important, to both developed and developing economies, sparking the interest of the literature. This study primarily aims to investigate the factors that influence the adoption of new sustainability reporting practices and external assurance. Also, this paper examines the relationship between the reporting activity and firms’ economic performance. The paper combines data from the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) Sustainability Disclosure Database and the Orbis database, from Bureau van Dijk. More specifically, the study uses two logit models and one regression model based on a sample of 366 large Asian and African companies which have addressed the SDGs in their sustainability reports published in 2017. The results reveal that operating in the manufacturing sector and having a higher percentage of women directo...
Journal of Emerging Market Finance
Corruption normally causes distrust among investors and can negatively affect investments. Partic... more Corruption normally causes distrust among investors and can negatively affect investments. Particularly in Latin America, decline of investments is one of the most significant problems. In such a context, anti-corruption laws can both fight corruption and promote business, restoring investors’ trust. In this article, we ask whether the introduction of an anti-corruption framework affecting both the public and private spheres is able to increase investors’ confidence in a new form of investment, that is, equity crowdfunding. By using a unique database, with combined information from different platforms in Brazil, Chile and Mexico, we study the population of 492 projects between 2013 and 2017. Implementing a set of linear probability regressions, we find that the new Mexican anti-corruption law has increased the probability of success of equity crowdfunding projects in this country, compared to Brazilian and Chilean projects, suggesting the existence of a causal relation between anti-...
International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business
Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy
PurposeThe aim of this research is to contribute to the existing literature about the entrepreneu... more PurposeThe aim of this research is to contribute to the existing literature about the entrepreneurial conditions in crowd-based contexts by describing how different European countries regulate equity crowdfunding market in order to incentive the investments and protect investors.Design/methodology/approachBased on a legal acts' analysis, we conduct a qualitative study comparing the crowdfunding regulation addressed to investors. In particular, we focus our analysis on the European countries with the highest concentration of crowdfunding platforms (i.e. the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain).FindingsThe results show that some countries, such as the UK, Germany and France, present an investor-oriented approach based on non-restrictive regulation, while other countries, such as Spain and Italy, have a restrictive approach that protects investors excessively and discourages them. In particular, the case study of France shows how the introduction of unrestricted regulation can pro...
The European Journal of Finance
Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the role that public policies may have in re-shapi... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess the role that public policies may have in re-shaping entrepreneurial ecosystems and supporting the creation of functioning ecosystems based on new forms of finance, i.e. the equity-based crowdfunding. Design/methodology/approach The paper first identifies and examines the European policies developed to encourage the use of equity crowdfunding in entrepreneurial finance from 2003 to 2018. Then, it reviews national regulatory frameworks for crowdfunding, and analyses the barriers that constrain the growth of national crowdfunding markets. Finally, the paper addresses the issue of regulatory harmonisation by underlining its importance in building an entrepreneurial ecosystem based on crowdfunding. Findings Building an entrepreneurial ecosystem based on crowdfunding requires better policy coordination between European countries and readiness to take concerted actions. National authorities must look at the crowdfunding phenomenon from a Euro...
Journal of Small Business & Entrepreneurship
Journal of Entrepreneurship and Public Policy
PurposeThe aim of this research is to contribute to the existing literature about the entrepreneu... more PurposeThe aim of this research is to contribute to the existing literature about the entrepreneurial conditions in crowd-based contexts by describing how different European countries regulate equity crowdfunding market in order to incentive the investments and protect investors.Design/methodology/approachBased on a legal acts' analysis, we conduct a qualitative study comparing the crowdfunding regulation addressed to investors. In particular, we focus our analysis on the European countries with the highest concentration of crowdfunding platforms (i.e. the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain).FindingsThe results show that some countries, such as the UK, Germany and France, present an investor-oriented approach based on non-restrictive regulation, while other countries, such as Spain and Italy, have a restrictive approach that protects investors excessively and discourages them. In particular, the case study of France shows how the introduction of unrestricted regulation can pro...
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Papers by Antonella Cicchiello