The EU’s Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP) which seeks to harmonise financial servicesacross Europe has the potential to bring great benefits to the investment community �…
Abstract
The EU’s Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP) which seeks to harmonise financial services across Europe has the potential to bring great benefits to the investment community ‐ particularly the UK which already has a wealth of expertise. But in order for it to succeed the rule makers need to recognise some basic principles ‐ principally that they should focus on what is necessary to achieve their goal, rather than what is merely desirable. This paper outlines these principles of successful regulation and looks specifically at some of the problems in the most controversial of the current proposals ‐ the Investment Services Directive (ISD).
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It is clear that the regulation of the financial services sector in Britain needs reform. The aim should be to ensure that high standards are maintained and that consumer…
Abstract
It is clear that the regulation of the financial services sector in Britain needs reform. The aim should be to ensure that high standards are maintained and that consumer protection is enhanced.
Andrew Bowman, Julie Froud, Sukhdev Johal, Michael Moran and Karel Williams
This exploratory paper discusses the undemocratic agenda setting of elites in Britain and how it has changed politics within a form of capitalism where much is left undisclosed in…
Abstract
This exploratory paper discusses the undemocratic agenda setting of elites in Britain and how it has changed politics within a form of capitalism where much is left undisclosed in terms of mechanism and methods. It argues for a more radical exploratory strategy using C. Wright Mills’ understanding that what is left undisclosed is crucially important to elite existence and power, while recognising the limits on democratic accountability when debate, decision and action in complex capitalist societies can be frustrated or hijacked by small groups. Have British business elites, through their relation with political elites, used their power to constrain democratic citizenship? Our hypothesis is that the power of business elites is most likely conjuncturally specific and geographically bounded with distinct national differences. In the United Kingdom, the outcomes are often contingent and unstable as business elites try to manage democracy; moreover, the composition and organisation of business elites have changed through successive conjunctures.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the political influence on the reforms proffered for the banking sector.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the political influence on the reforms proffered for the banking sector.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is divided into three main parts. First, the paper will examine the background of the financial crisis. The second and main part of the paper is the examination and critique of the White Paper reform proposals. The paper concludes by critically examining the opposition party's reform paper and contrasts the proposals.
Findings
The paper concludes that although the bank regulation needs to be reformed, it is debateable whether it is the time or the place or indeed the party that is right to achieve a successful result at the present time.
Research limitations/implications
The implications for the research is that during the next year banking reforms will undergo further changes, therefore, there will be a requirement to revisit and revise the findings in light of the political agenda of the new government.
Originality/value
This paper offers an original insight into the political influences on banking regulation within the UK.
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Elizabeth Houldsworth and Gillian Alexander
This paper was intended to explore the concept of learning in networks using recent literature from this emerging field. In order to do so, it takes as a case study a pan‐European…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper was intended to explore the concept of learning in networks using recent literature from this emerging field. In order to do so, it takes as a case study a pan‐European e‐learning project, which required collaborative working and learning within a distributed team.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach has been qualitative and exploratory. Data have been collected via interviews with project partners and participant observation of the steering group meetings. Analysis has similarly been qualitative in nature.
Findings
Analysis suggests that there are links with earlier literature on inter‐organisational learning networks, particularly around culture, management style and leadership in virtual collaboration. Interestingly, even supposed “experts” in the field of e‐learning technologies showed a preference to work face‐to‐face.
Research limitations/implications
The research to date has been exploratory and small‐scale. More work is required to test the findings in a wider context.
Practical implications
The findings are believed to have considerable practical value, both for the European Union, as the funding body, but also for one's own practice, and that of others as they attempt to facilitate learning and collaborating in networks.
Originality/value
The paper adds value as it is one of only a small number to approach networked learning from a non‐experimental standpoint. It is also original in its application of the frameworks around network learning and learning in networks, as advanced by Knight in 2002 and Knight and Pye in 2002.
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This paper aims to clarify the effects of introducing depositor preference on resolution costs, probability of default and bank funding costs, allowing for the possibility of…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to clarify the effects of introducing depositor preference on resolution costs, probability of default and bank funding costs, allowing for the possibility of collateralized funding.
Design/methodology/approach
The importance of conflict among creditors in generating bankruptcy costs is documented. A model of such a conflict is provided, which is then used in analyzing the effects of depositor preference and other forms of asset encumbrance. The model takes into account the reactions of providers of secured and unsecured financing.
Findings
Depositor preference and collateralization of borrowing may reduce the cost of settling the conflicts among creditors that arises in case of resolution or bankruptcy. This net benefit, which may be capitalized into the value of the bank rather than affect creditors’ expected returns, should result in lower overall funding costs and thus a lower probability of distress despite increasing encumbrance of the bank’s balance sheet. The benefit is maximized when resolution is initiated early enough for preferred depositors to remain fully protected.
Research limitations/implications
The interaction of asset encumbrance with liquidity risk is not addressed directly.
Practical implications
The issues addressed on the paper are currently the subject of debate by regulators and market participants. There are direct implications for prudential regulation and bank resolution policies.
Originality/value
The theory of conflict resolution is applied to bankruptcy and bank resolution, generating rigorous analysis of an important practical issue.
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Angela Yung Chi Hou, Christopher Hill, Karen Hui-Jung Chen, Sandy Tsai and Vivian Chen
The purpose of this paper is to examine the student mobility programs of the three initiatives – in Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Institution of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the student mobility programs of the three initiatives – in Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization-Regional Institution of Higher Education and Development, University Mobility in Asia and Pacific (UMAP), and Campus Asia – and provide a comparative analysis of the respective programs in terms of the role of government, institutional involvement, quality assurance, and challenges. In addition, the paper will assess their impacts on higher education regionalization by regulatory models toward the end of the paper.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts qualitative document analysis as a major research method to explore the developmental models of three student mobility programs. Document analysis is an approach used to gather and review the content of existing written documentation related to the study in order to extract pieces of information in a rigorous and systematic manner.
Findings
ASEAN International Mobility for Students (AIMS), Collective Action for Mobility Program of University Student in Asia (CAMPUS Asia), and UMAP student mobility schemes have a shared purpose in higher education regionalization, but with different regulatory frameworks and Functional, Organizational, and Political approach models. AIMS and CAMPUS Asia as a strong network and government-led initiatives adopt a combination of functional, organizational, and political approaches; UMAP provides university-driven regional mobility programs with a hybridized force. However, all three of them face the same challenges at regional and national levels, such as different national regulation, coordination among participants, and implementation of credit transfer schemes.
Practical implications
The scale of three student mobility programs is still low, which results in limited impact on higher education regionalization in Asia. However, a stronger decision-making model and increased financial support to universities and students are desirable for the creation of a sustainable and effective network.
Originality/value
This is an original research and makes a great contribution to Asian nations.
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Angela Yung Chi Hou, Arianna Fang Yu Lin, Edward Hung Cheng Su, Ying Chen and Christopher Hill
The 2020 pandemic disrupted traditional student mobility and forced a larger majority of transnational programmes to switch to a virtual or hybrid mode, including joint and double…
Abstract
Purpose
The 2020 pandemic disrupted traditional student mobility and forced a larger majority of transnational programmes to switch to a virtual or hybrid mode, including joint and double degree programmes. Therefore, this study aims to perceive the linkage between quality assurance (QA) and delivery modes of cross-border higher education (CBHE) in Asia before and during the pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
Through an online survey and semi-structured interviews, the process by which top 200 ranked universities in the 2022 QS global ranking responded to QA and qualification issues of joint/dual degree programs in conjunction with delivery modes was explored.
Findings
The study has discovered that most respondents from universities, to some extent, tended to be positive about the effectiveness of hybrid delivery of the joint/dual degree programs, even if they still preferred the physical mode to alternatives. Either “divergence” or “responsiveness” QA modes were not applied appropriately in most joint/dual degree programs of the selected universities during the pandemic. Moreover, a fair, transparent and convergent quality and qualification system should be established to facilitate agility and responsiveness of CBHE.
Originality/value
The findings are of value for policymakers, QA agencies and universities to advocate the new QA model for CBHE as a systematic approach in response to changing higher education landscape in the post-pandemic era.
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Vivianna Fang He and Gregor Krähenmann
The pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities is not always successful. On the one hand, entrepreneurial failure offers an invaluable opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn about…
Abstract
The pursuit of entrepreneurial opportunities is not always successful. On the one hand, entrepreneurial failure offers an invaluable opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn about their ventures and themselves. On the other hand, entrepreneurial failure is associated with substantial financial, psychological, and social costs. When entrepreneurs fail to learn from failure, the potential value of this experience is not fully utilized and these costs will have been incurred in vain. In this chapter, the authors investigate how the stigma of failure exacerbates the various costs of failure, thereby making learning from failure much more difficult. The authors combine an analysis of interviews of 20 entrepreneurs (who had, at the time of interview, experienced failure) with an examination of archival data reflecting the legal and cultural environment around their ventures. The authors find that stigma worsens the entrepreneurs’ experience of failure, hinders their transformation of failure experience, and eventually prevents them from utilizing the lessons learnt from failure in their future entrepreneurial activities. The authors discuss the implications of the findings for the entrepreneurship research and economic policies.
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Yang Can and Angela Yung Chi Hou
The advance in higher education in Asian countries is of major interest because it reveals increasing global political and cultural influence in recent years. The review explores…
Abstract
Purpose
The advance in higher education in Asian countries is of major interest because it reveals increasing global political and cultural influence in recent years. The review explores the characteristics of publications from 2013–2018 concerned with the internationalisation of higher education in Asia. The study aims to analyse the current trajectory, including the size, growth trends, and regional networking of this domain, with a goal of identifying the influential journals, authors, and documents, as well exploring the thematic structure and topical issues and trends of this domain.
Design/methodology/approach
241 Scopus-indexed documents were selected and reviewed using a quantitative descriptive way. These documents were analysed by VOS viewer software.
Findings
The results show the most topical issues and trends concern about “Asian immigration and mobility”, “transnational education”, “international students and acculturation”, and “international branch campuses”. Seven main schools of thought were identified and are clearly explained herein, which provides a baseline for future research for new scholars.
Social implications
The present study suggests that trans-regional cooperation is the future of internationalisation in higher education. Asian scholars are recommended to increase cooperation and exchanges with each other, expand channels of contact, further understand and optimise their own advantages, achieve win-win cooperation and make Asia's voice heard in the world in higher education field.
Originality/value
This bibliometric review can predict the main trends in higher education internationalisation in the future and encourage implication of interdisciplinary research in higher education internationalisation.