COST STRUCTURE COMPLEXITY AND STOCK PRICES VOLATILITY: AN ANALYSIS OF POSSIBLE RELATIONSHIP AMONG ITALIAN LISTED COMPANIES IN THE PERIOD OF CRISIS

This paper analyzes the relationship between complexity in cost structure (Jennings et al., 2013) and stock price volatility concerning Italian Listed Companies to determine over the period of crisis whether firm complexity is associated with risk. Using data collected for 153 available Italian listed companies from AIDA database, I found that there was no relationship between stock market volatility and cost structure complexity among Italian Listed Companies. I also found that cost service was the most relevant element within 40 complex Italian listed companies and suggested an integrating analysis with further measures of complexity approaches.