Corporate Governance in Municipal Corporate Groups: the German and Italian experience

The paper mainly examines the governance strategies in the Municipal Corporate Groups (MCGs) from the public owner and contractor standpoint of view in order to find similarities and differences between Italy and Germany. The first part presents some theoretical considerations about corporate governance in the public sector (definition, principles, main characteristics and the impacts on MCGs). The second part presents the reasons of governance changes in two Italian and German Cities: one city with an internal group control unit and one city with an external solution (separate holding company). After an analysis and discussion of the comparatives research findings (in term of similarities and differences) in the two Countries in third section, the paper ends with a summary and some conclusions.