The Zappa method for ascertaining business continuity and its application in the 1934 Comit Report

Abstract

Introduction. The verification of business continuity has significant theoretical and empirical implications, the complexity of which is amplified in large companies such as the Banca Commerciale Italiana analysed in this study. Aim of the work. This study aims to reconstruct Zappa's method of ascertaining business continuity, both from the point of view of its founding theoretical princi-ples and its concrete application. Methodological approach. The study combined two methodologies: (a) a literature review to analyse Zappa's works published up to 1935, the year in which the Comit Report was drafted; and (b) a case study to investigate the 1934 Comit Report, drawn up by Zappa on behalf of the Presidency of the I.R.I. Main findings. This study identified Gino Zappa's interpretative paradigms and elaborated an explanatory scheme for his method. Originality. The originality of this study lies in the unitary composition of Zappa's procedure through the empirical confirmation of his theoretical postulates.