Eterogeneità e indipendenza dei CdA delle società quotate italiane

The aim of this study isto analyze the level of independence and heterogeneity of board of directors, and the relationship between board independence (traditionaldiversity) and board diversity (innovative diversity) of Italian listed companies. The analysis was conducted at the end of2009 on 1.647 board of directors in a sample of 169 Italian listed companies which considered more observable dimensions of traditionaldiversity (such as board independence) and innovative diversity (such as age, gender, and race). We found that boards arecomposed by Italian, male directors between 45 and 65 year old. Further, the sample of 169 listed companies reveals that, whenpresent, female hold the role of non executive directors and they are appointed because they are either tied to the ownership or becausethey are shareholders. Foreign directors are appointed as independent directors and often they are a minority of shareholders. Boardof firms in the industry sector have wider age range, and board of firms in the service sector have a larger number of foreign directors.Moreover, we find that board size is a determinant of board diversity and board independence. We not find a significant relationshipbetween board independence and board diversity. More specifically, results of the regression of the Board Independence showthat on every measure of diversity, the level of independence of the board is reduced when it includes women, people with a wide agerange and a high interlock. The only element of diversity that seems to contribute to the definition of a more independent board ofdirectors is the presence of foreign directors. The originality of the contribution was attributable to the choice of analyzing the contextof Italian listed companies. Italian listed companies are noted for their highly concentrated ownership and principal-principal agencyproblems. it is interesting to know if independence and heterogeneity of the board are interconnected and if greater independence iscorrelated with greater heterogeneity. Second, to the best of our knowledge, there are no other published studies that account for bothboard heterogeneity and independence at the same time, and that are applied to Italian based firms. it would not be possible to infera great deal about the situation in Italy from existing studies that concentrate predominately on the United States, as the economic,cultural and normative environment is uite different, thus, it is more useful to analyze the heterogeneity and level of independence ofthe board in each country individually.

Obiettivo del contributo è di analizzare il livello di indipendenza e di eterogeneità dei CdA nonchè le relazioni tra indipendenza del CdA (forma tradizionale di diversity) ed eterogeneità del Cda (forma innovativa di diversity) con riferimento alle società quotate italiane. L'analisi è condotta per l'anno 2009 sui 1.647 amministratori delle 167 società quotate italiane. L'analisi ha preso in considerazione le variabili più oggettivamente osservabili. I risultati evidenziano che i CdA italiani hanno una bassa presenza di amministratori stranieri con una età che varia tra i 45 e i 65 anni. Le poche donne presenti hanno generalmente legami di parentela con la proprietà dell'impresa. Non si riscontra una significativa relazione tra l'indipendenza del CdA e la sua eterogeneità.