Timothy B. Palmer and David J. Flanagan
This paper aims to explore the landscape of sustainability goals set by large firms.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore the landscape of sustainability goals set by large firms.
Design/methodology/approach
Sustainability reports were content analyzed using the triple bottom line framework.
Findings
This study identified 389 goals among 22 firms. The most common goals focused on the natural environment. On average, the firms list 18 sustainability goals. These included an average of eight “planet” goals, seven “people” goals and three “overarching” goals.
Practical implications
This research should be useful to sustainability professionals who are setting goals for their firms and seek to understand the current landscape of goals set by large firms.
Originality/value
Although previous research has analyzed the content of sustainability reports, this is the first paper to explore sustainability goals. Given the importance of goal setting in strategic management, this paper fills an important gap in the intersection between sustainability and strategy.
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David J. Flanagan, Douglas A. Lepisto and Laurel F. Ofstein
The purpose of this paper is to employ an inductive approach to explore how small, nascent, firms in the craft brewing industry use cooperative behaviours with direct competitors…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to employ an inductive approach to explore how small, nascent, firms in the craft brewing industry use cooperative behaviours with direct competitors to achieve their goals.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were gathered from interviews with the founders of seven small, newly established, craft brewers in a Midwestern city in the USA for this exploratory study. Data analysis followed the general tenants of inductive coding. Porter’s value chain model was used as a framework to organise and conceptualise the coopetitive behaviour uncovered.
Findings
The firms engage in cooperative behaviours with their direct competitors in areas such as process technology development, procurement, inbound logistics and marketing. A particularly interesting and common collaborative activity was breweries recommending/promoting competing breweries to their own customers.
Practical implications
This study provides clear examples of how relationship building with competitors could be advantageous and help small, nascent firms overcome the liabilities of newness and smallness.
Originality/value
Research on coopetition has called for a greater understanding of the nature of cooperative behaviours in small firms, start-ups and firms outside of high-technology industries. Moreover, research has called for finer-grained approaches to conceptualising coopetition. This paper fills these gaps and shows how Porter’s value chain is a useful tool for organising the types of collaborative behaviours that can be part of coopetition. The findings enhance understanding and facilitate future research by illustrating a broad array of cooperative activities that occur between direct competitors.
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Hugh D. Flanagan and David J.C. Thompson
Describes a distinctive model of managerial leadership whichproposes an integrated framework of ideas and skills of potentialapplication to any leadership situation – and has been…
Abstract
Describes a distinctive model of managerial leadership which proposes an integrated framework of ideas and skills of potential application to any leadership situation – and has been devised from literature sources and tested in a number of national and international workshops. Discusses the concepts of transformational leadership and transactional management. Relevant macro factors consist of a number of components from which a range of capabilities, or skill sets, may be derived. Concludes with an outline programme format which suggests how these capabilities may be acquired and developed by managers who aspire to leadership.
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David J. Flanagan, Claudio D. Milman and James P. D'Mello
The Latin American merger and acquisition (M&A) market offers enormous opportunities. M&A activity in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela is examined and compared with…
Abstract
The Latin American merger and acquisition (M&A) market offers enormous opportunities. M&A activity in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Venezuela is examined and compared with M&A activity in the United States. Characteristics examined include the industries and form of ownership of the target firms, the types of transactions, and the home countries of the acquiring firms. Differences are found between characteristics of M&A activity in the Latin American countries and the United States. Differences are also found among the characteristics of M&A activity in the various Latin American countries. Implications for managers and areas in need of additional research are discussed.
David J. Flanagan, Lori A. Muse and K.C. O'Shaughnessy
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of financial restatements by US companies to help students, professors, and practitioners gain a better understanding of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of financial restatements by US companies to help students, professors, and practitioners gain a better understanding of restatements. Data from restatement activity that occurred between January 1, 1997 and June 30, 2002 is presented and relevant literature is cited to discus the players involved in restatements, the causes of restatements and their impacts.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 919 restatement announcements compiled by the General Accounting Office (GAO) that occurred between January 1, 1997 and June 30, 2002 is analyzed. The data and the relevant literature are used to examine the roles of companies, auditing firms, and the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the financial reporting process and show how they are involved in prompting restatements. Literature is also reviewed on the root causes of restatements and their impact.
Findings
The misstatements that lead to earnings restatements are driven by a variety of forces, the most often studied and discussed being deceptive accounting practices by managers. The results of these restatements include a decline in the market value of the firm, an increase in the cost of capital, a loss of reputation for the firm and managers and an overall loss of confidence from investors. Key players in restatements by US companies are the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the restating firms' auditors and the management of the restating firms. Restatements prompted by the SEC tend to be larger than those prompted by other entities. They also tend to involve firms with high profitability before the restatement. The Sarbanes‐Oxley act is the latest significant piece of legislation that impacts financial reporting by firms.
Research limitations/implications
Data on US restatements occurring between January 1, 1997 and June 30, 2002 are presented. Restatements are a continuing, global, phenomenon so studies involving restatements by firms in various countries and from more recent periods would be useful.
Practical implications
This paper provides a useful overview of restatement activity in the USA for any individual looking to become more familiar with the topic. Ideas for future research are presented.
Originality/value
This paper fills a hole in the literature by providing data and citing relevant literature to provide an overview of accounting restatement activity in the USA.
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This study focused on analysing the effect of acquisition characteristics on post‐acquisition operating performance for 83 bids consisting of 83 public listed bidders acquiring 80…
Abstract
This study focused on analysing the effect of acquisition characteristics on post‐acquisition operating performance for 83 bids consisting of 83 public listed bidders acquiring 80 private, 2 public listed and 1 non‐public listed targets in Malaysia during the period 1988–1992. The specific bid characteristics analysed are business relatedness, management turnover, the relative size of targets to bidders, the method of payment offered and board of directors' ownership structure. Since the specific feature of the current sample is that it consists mainly of privately owned targets, the characteristics of disciplinary bids found in acquisitions of public listed targets were not expected in agreed bids between the bidders and targets in this study. The results indicate that the target directors' turnover and the directors' share ownership do not have a significant effect on the post‐acquisition performance. Rather it appears that, if anything, retention of existing management is more likely to lead to performance improvement. Further analysis shows that replacement of target management has no impact on post‐acquisition performance regardless of the relatedness line of business. The latter findings reinforce the unique characteristics of the data set used in the current analysis of acquisitions of privately owned Malaysian companies in which unique skills of previous directors may often be retained post‐acquisition regardless of the business relatedness. The study also provides evidence that acquisitions of highly related business between target and acquiring firm, large relative size of target to bidders and payment for the acquisition by shares have a significant positive impact on post‐acquisition control‐adjusted performance. However, highly related business between target and bidder and payment by shares are the only significant acquisition characteristics that have a significant positive impact on the post‐acquisition control‐adjusted performance when multiple regression is used.
Ali M. Metwalli and Roger Y.W. Tang
This paper provides an overview of the merger and acquisition (M&A) activity of Middle‐Eastern (M.E.) countries from 1990 to 2000. The following information is presented: M&A…
Abstract
This paper provides an overview of the merger and acquisition (M&A) activity of Middle‐Eastern (M.E.) countries from 1990 to 2000. The following information is presented: M&A transactions by the nationality and industries of the target firms; home countries and industries of the acquiring firms and the acquisition methods. The largest twenty mergers and acquisitions in the Middle East during the 1990–2000 period are identified. The paper also compares the M&A activity in four important countries (Egypt, Israel, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia). Learning the M&A activity in the Middle East is essential in identifying target or acquirers, and conducting future M&A transactions.
International comparisons of contractor performance allow contractors in different countries to distinguish their own strengths and weaknesses and improve their competitiveness…
Abstract
International comparisons of contractor performance allow contractors in different countries to distinguish their own strengths and weaknesses and improve their competitiveness accordingly. Based on a survey of contractors in Japan, the UK and the US, contractor time performance is evaluated and compared. It is found that Japanese contractors achieve shorter construction times and higher levels of time certainty than their UK and US counterparts. Furthermore, anticipated delays are far shorter in Japan and levels of client satisfaction are significantly higher than in the US and UK. The superior performance of Japanese contractors may be attributed to their working practices which were characterized by the use of a larger workforce on site, detailed planning, close working relationships with their subcontractors, and an overriding focus on time certainty.
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This chapter is a journey into the ontological significance of place in consideration of the Atlantic Tasmanian salmon industry and its challenges to the ethical discourse around…
Abstract
This chapter is a journey into the ontological significance of place in consideration of the Atlantic Tasmanian salmon industry and its challenges to the ethical discourse around the social license to operate (SLO) beyond the oxymoron of a name. It centres the discourse around the salmon itself. A once totem animal, responsible for the balance of Canada’s abundant ecosystem, now reduced to a mere source of protein, manipulated, and commodified by Tasmania’s ‘big business’ and against the SLO of Flanagan’s ‘Toxic’. It applies Ortega y Gasset’s mid-twentieth century solution to the problem of our western disconnection from place to the current neoliberal political framework. This welcomes an inclusive dialogue with kinship structures of the Mi’kmaq peoples reflected also in the ontological narrative of the First Nations people of Tasmania. This multidisciplinary journey necessitates a concept of the SLO founded upon ethical responsibility and a cultural license if it is to genuinely hold to account the corporate sovereign.