Business Management
PROFESSORS FRANCESCO PEDACCINI -JORGE A. DURAN E.
COURSE AIMS
The course is made up of two distinct, although related, modules, one per each
semester of classes.
The first module will discuss the main questions related to international taxation,
both from a theoretical and a practical point of view, thereby providing the main
tools of international tax consulting. Once summarized some of the fundamental
notions of the Italian tax law, this module will be focused on the issues of tax
treaties and of EU tax law covering group taxation and intra-group flows of
income. Particular attention will also be given to case studies in order to provide a
more comprehensive and integrated approach to the subject matter.
The second module Small Business Management will discuss the main features of
Family Business (Small to Medium-sized Enterprises), their competitive strategies
and entrepreneurial activities. Also, the succession process and composition of
government structures in family business will be thoroughly examined.
Moreover, given the importance of family-owned SMEs for the Italian economy,
relevance in the discussion will be given to the topic in order to understand their
peculiarities and develop the ability to provide adequate solution to related
managerial issues.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the course, students will be able to:
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Manage the typical issues of international tax consulting;
Understand and discuss all the key traits of entrepreneurial personality and
leadership styles applied to the different phases of a business’ life cycle;
Develop a business plan (also for internationalization) and prepare the related
formal document(s) for the start-up of new businesses or the development of
existing ones;
Discuss and evaluate a business plan in terms of the actual feasibility of a
new venture;
Discuss and present to a selected public a business plan project;
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Understand y discuss the features of family business entrepreneurial
orientation, applying some research propositions and the concept of
enterprising family.
Understand and discuss the peculiarities of family business strategic
management, applying general agency theory and RBV perpectives.
Understand and discuss the succession processes in family business
ownership and management, applying knowledge about successor’s
commitment, relationship predecessor-successor, type of knowledge
demanded, and the size and dispersion of ownership and management in the
family firm.
Understand and discuss the role of governance structures in family business,
applying related general principles and theories.
Explore the relationship between enterprise and family and their frequent
overlapping in SMEs particularly in the Italian context.
COURSE CONTENT
Module I: International Corporate Taxation and Tax Planning
- Basic notions on the Italian taxation of business income;
- The problem of double taxation: the OECD Model and the other Model
Conventions. The relationship of Double Taxation Conventions to domestic
law.
- Fundamental international taxation rules: tax residency, permanent
establishment, dividends, interests, royalties;
- Basic notions on EU Tax Law;
- The taxation of multinational corporations: transfer pricing, CFC rule, group
taxation
Module II: Small Business Management
- Defining family business.
- Theoretical frameworks to family business.
- Entrepreneurship in family business.
- Strategic planning in family business.
- Succession in family business.
- Small and medium sized family businesses in the Italian context.
READING LIST
Module I:

LANG, Introduction to the Law of Double Taxation Conventions, IBFD, Amsterdam,
2013.

HOLMES, International Tax Policy and Double Tax Treaties, IBFD, Amsterdam, 2014.
The chapters to be studied for the course will be indicated. Same for not attending students.
Further reading materials (slides, articles, case studies) will be provided by the professor
during the course.
Module II:

BASCO, RODRIGO and PÉREZ RODRÍGUEZ, MARÍA J. (2009). Studying the Family Enterprise
Holistically: Evidence for Integrated Family and Business Systems. Family Business
Review, 22(1): 82-95.

CABRERA-SUÁREZ, KATIUSKA; DE SAÁ-PÉREZ, PETRA; AND GARCÍA-ALMEIDA, DESIDERIO
(2001). The Succession Process from a Resource- and Knowledge-Based View of the
Family Firm. Family Business Review, XIV(1): 37-46.

CHRISMAN, JAMES J.; CHUA, JESS H.; AND SHARMA, PRAMODITA (2005). Trends and directions
in the development of a strategic management theory of the family firm.
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, September: 555-576.

CHUA, JESS H.; CHRISMAN, JAMES J.; AND SHARMA, PRAMODITA (1999). Defining the Family
Business by Behavior. Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 23(4): 19-39.

CRAIG, JUSTIN AND MOORES, KEN (2010). Strategically aligning family and business
systems using the Balanced Scorecard. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 1: 78–87.
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DE MASSIS, ALFREDO; KOTLAR, JOSIP; CAMPOPIANO, GIOVANNA; AND CASSIA, LUCIO (2013).
Dispersion of family ownership and the performance of small-to-medium size private
family firms. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 4: 166-175.
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DURÁN-ENCALADA, JORGE A.; SAN MARTIN-REYNA, JUAN M.; AND MONTIEL-CAMPOS, HÉCTOR
(2012). A Research Proposal to Examine Entrepreneurship in Family Business. Journal
of Entrepreneurship, Management and Innovation, 8(3): 58-77.

GERSICK, KELIN E.; LANSBERG, IVAN; DESJARDINS, MICHELE; AND DUNN, BARBARA (1999).
Stages and Transitions: Managing Change in the Family Business. Family Business
Review, XII(4): 287-297.
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HABBERSHON, T.G.; WILLIAMS, M.; AND MACMILLAN, I.C. (2003). A unified systems
perspective of family firm performance. Journal of Business Venturing, 18: 451–465.
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KLEIN, SABINE B.; ASTRACHAN, JOSEPH H.; SMYRNIOS, KOSMAS X. (2005). The F-PEC Scale
of Family Influence: Construction, Validation, and Further Implication for Theory.
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, May: 1042-2587.
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LE-BRETON-MILLER, ISABELLE; MILLER, DANNY.; AND STEIER, LLOYD P. (2004). Toward and
Integrative Model of Effective FOB Succession. Entrepreneurship Theory and
Practice, Summer: 305-328.
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MAZZI, CHIARA (2011). Family business and financial performance: Current state of
knowledge and future research challenges. Journal of Family Business Strategy, 2:
166-181.
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MILLER, DANNY; MINICHILLI, ALESSANDRO; AND CORBETTA, GUIDO (2013). Is Family
Leadership Always Beneficial? Strategic Management Journal, 34: 553-571.
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ROYER, SUSANNE; SIMONS, ROLAND; BOYD, BRITTA; AND RAFFERTY, ALANNAH (2008).
Promoting Family: A Contingency Model of Family Business Succession. Family
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Business Review, XXI(1): 15-30.
SHARMA, PRAMODITA AND IRVING, P. GREGORY (2005). Four Bases of Family Business
Successor Commitment: Antecedents and Consequences. Entrepreneurship Theory and
Practice, January: 13-33.
SIRMON, DAVID G.; ARREGLE, JEAN-LUC; HITT, MICHAEL A.; AND WEBB, JUSTIN W. (2008). The
Role of Family Influence in Firms’ Strategic Responses to Threat of Imitation,
Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, November: 979-998.
TAGIURI, R. AND DAVIS, J.A. (1996). Bivalent attributes of the family firm. Family
Business Review, 9(2): 199-208.
WARD, JOHN L. (1988). The Special Role of Strategic Planning for Family Business.
Family Business Review, 1(2): 105-117.
ZELLWEGER, THOMAS M.; NASON, ROBERT S.; AND NORDQVIST, MATTIAS (2011). From
Longevity of Firms to Transgenerational Entrepreneurship of Families: Introducing
Family Entrepreneurial Orientation. Family Business Review XX(X): 1– 20.
The articles to be studied for every topic of the course will be indicated. Same for not
attending students. Further reading materials (slides, handouts, and case studies) will be
provided by the professor during the course.
TEACHING METHOD
The course will be taught through different methods combined: lectures, discussions of case
studies, presentations by students in-class and project works.
ASSESSMENT METHOD
For the first module, students attending class on a regular basis will be required to give an
oral presentation of a case study and to take a final oral exam on the part of the course
content not covered by the case presented, according to the weights:
Case presentation 50%
Final exam
50%
Students not attending class on a regular basis will be required to take a final oral test
studying Holmes, International Tax Policy and Double Tax Treaties, IBFD, Amsterdam,
2014 (pp. 1-315; 367-427).
For the second module, students attending class on a regular basis will be required to work
on case discussions, group presentations, and a final project, according to the following
weights:
Case discussion in class
50%
Group presentation 25%
Final project
25%
Students not attending class on a regular basis will be required to take a final written test of
90 minutes covering all the topics indicated (articles, handouts and other on-line materials).
A total of 10-12 questions will be asked to sutdents, including concepiual as well as
practical implications of the topics.
NOTES
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