Determinants of life expectancy at birth: a longitudinal study on OECD countries

This paper analyses the influence of several determinants on life expectancy at birth in 36 OECD countries over the 1999-2018 period. We utilized a cross-country fixed-effects multiple regression analysis with year and country dummies and used dynamic models, backward stepwise selection, and Arellano-Bond estimators to treat potential endogeneity issues. The results show the influence of per capita health-care expenditure, incidence of out-of-pocket expenditure, physician density, hospital bed density, social spending, GDP level, participation ratio to labour, prevalence of chronic respiratory diseases, temperature, and total size of the population on life expectancy at birth. In line with previous studies, this analysis confirms the relevance of both health care expenditure and health care system (physicians and hospital beds in our analysis) in influencing a country's population life expectancy. It also outlines the importance of other factors related to population behaviour and social spending jointly considered on this outcome. Policy makers should carefully consider these mutual influences when allocating public funds, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic period.

The role of management control and integrated information systems for the resilience of SMEs

This paper investigates the resilience of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly the influence exerted by certain factors related to management control, integrated information systems (enterprise resource planning [ERP]), information and communication technology (ICT) systems, and financial resources. For this purpose, leveraging from the dynamic capability theory, in late spring 2020, a questionnaire was sent to limited-liability SMEs in Verona and Vicenza provinces in Italy operating in the manufacturing, construction, and distribution sectors. Respondents were asked to answer a set of questions and to evaluate the resilience of their firms as of January 1, 2020; May 1, 2020; and one year later, as of July 2021. Using a multivariate regression model to analyze data from the 143 questionnaires received, we found a positive influence of budgeting, business continuity tools, availability of supplementary financial resources, and resilience of the entrepreneur on both COVID-19 resilience and the organizational resilience of SMEs. SMEs with a high intention to use ERP systems also had high resilience levels. ICT use for smart working was not statistically significant. Despite the limitations concerning the sample and period considered, we believe that this study contributes to both academic debate, by illustrating the influence of certain managerial and organizational factors on the resilience of SMEs, and practice, by supporting a greater empirical use of management control tools, such as budgets and contingency plans, and integrated information systems (ERP). Our study supports the creation of financial buffers and strengthening the entrepreneur’s resilience for improving SME resilience.

Is COVID-19 enough? Which underestimated conditions characterise the adoption of complex information infrastructures in small and medium-sized enterprises

The COVID-19 pandemic crisis has forced firms to leverage information and digital technologies to resist its disruptive effects. The shift to digital, however, requires the availability of information infrastructure, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), that can enable effective digitisation of processes and practices. This paper investigates the role of the pandemic crisis on boosting intentions to adopt ERP systems in SMEs by mitigating the barrier factors that hinder their adoption. To investigate the impact of the pandemic on ERP adoption decisions, we ran a quantitative study among 147 SMEs in the Veneto region in Italy and applied a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis model to study them. Our results show that the pandemic crisis has boosted this adoption, shaping the configuration of conditions that characterise ERP adoption.