Economia e gestione delle imprese. Teoria, strategie e creazione di valore

[Machine translation] The new edition of the text of Economics and Business Management is a significant update to the volume: Business, Market and Value Management by Giovanni Fraquelli. The contents have been profoundly renewed: the work is the result of the contribution of numerous authors and the arguments are more circumscribed and streamlined, with a more marked focus on operational aspects., The new version offers two different usage opportunities. The material, intended as a teaching aid, allows the student to acquire, through the first two chapters, the concepts that characterize the theory of business and entrepreneurship and the related strategies useful for creating value, with a predominant attention to the various business activities. Subsequently, the analysis is aimed at operational management and the solution of problems concerning efficiency in the use of resources and profitability in a broad sense, the use of cost-of-revenue information and pricing policies. Finally, a brief mention is made of the methodologies for evaluating industrial investments; a topic that allows for welding with the company's growth decisions. A second opportunity to use the text concerns the training aspect of entrepreneurs and managers, in particular, with regard to decision-making aspects present in small businesses. In the context of the small size, we find operators characterized, often, by great technological skills, but little economic management knowledge. These deficiencies often lead to inappropriate choices. The notions and examples in the last four chapters of the text can help us to fill the gaps mentioned above, with solutions that are often very simple, but supported by a rigorous working method. , In particular:, the first chapter is directed to the study of the birth and development of the company, through a path that originates from entrepreneurship and innovation and unfolds with the consideration of the trade-off between business and market. The various theoretical references find their fundamental focus in contractual relationships, internal and external to the company. The economic and social repercussions of relationships with the various stakeholders conclude the chapter;, in the second chapter, some methods and tools useful for the strategic management of the company are proposed. Once the meaning of strategy has been conceptually clarified, the focus is on the competitive environment and on the role of internal resources and skills. Next, some principles of non-cooperative game theory are illustrated, useful as support for strategic and managerial decisions. In the final paragraph, outlining a cooperative context between companies, the process of distributing value among the different subjects that participate in the generation of the same is examined;, With the third chapter, the operational part takes shape. In fact, after examining the nature of the company and the possible strategic orientation, the need arises to find suitable measures to assess the achievement of the objectives. There are many performance indicators, but considering the nature of the text, attention is directed to the concepts of efficiency, productivity, profitability and value creation;, an elementary aspect that characterizes the strategies, examined in the second chapter, concerns the ability to maintain a competitive position on the cost side. The fourth chapter focuses on the different nature and variability of costs;, The fifth chapter uses the various cost information by combining them with revenues in order to verify the conditions for income balance or for particular levels of profitability. In this context, there is the relationship between costs and total revenues, but also the differential analysis based on the use of the contribution margin in decision-making terms. The chapter concludes by demonstrating that the price is often not a given but the result of a specific decision-making orientation;, the main techniques for evaluating industrial investments, present in the sixth chapter, conclude the work. Obviously, there is an awareness of the importance of strategic analysis relating to growth choices and related investments, but in the context of the work, we limit ourselves to providing methodological support that allows a correct evaluation of the different alternatives., Part of the material in the new text has been used in economics and business management courses at the University of Eastern Piedmont. The authors are grateful to the students for the comments and valuable suggestions received. Finally, the curator's deep gratitude to the co-authors for the valuable teamwork that made it possible to arrive at the final result.