RESEARCH is making rapid strides, particularly in aircraft construction. The'results are given practical expression by the designer, who is thus one of the prominent factors in…
Abstract
RESEARCH is making rapid strides, particularly in aircraft construction. The'results are given practical expression by the designer, who is thus one of the prominent factors in technical development. In the same manner as in science and research; the designer must continually be breaking new ground. Neither lack of time, convenience, nor conservative adherence to excessive safety should induce the retention of an older design if new research and experience are capable of indicating improvements. Each succeeding design should be lighter, simpler, but also stronger than its predecessor, and not only by the use of new and improved materials.
Julio O. De Castro and Klaus Uhlenbruck
This paper builds upon the growing research on both privatization and entrepreneurship and provides a model to predict outcomes of privatization of state‐owned enterprises…
Abstract
This paper builds upon the growing research on both privatization and entrepreneurship and provides a model to predict outcomes of privatization of state‐owned enterprises. Previous research has concentrated on the change in ownership as the principal driver of post‐privatization increases in firm performance and wealth creation. We suggest that structural conditions of the state‐owned enterprise and the privatization process, in combination with characteristics of the new owners, lead to performance changes because they determine the firm’s ability to transform from a state agency to an entrepreneurial organization.
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Kenneth Appiah Donkor-Hyiaman and Kenneth Nii Okai Ghartey
This study aims to examine why Ghana has English legal origins (hypothesised as a legal framework that promotes financial development) but has not developed a well-functioning…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine why Ghana has English legal origins (hypothesised as a legal framework that promotes financial development) but has not developed a well-functioning mortgage finance market.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopt the institutional autopsy approach developed by Milhaupt and Pistor (2008). This study is not a cross-country study but a historical examination of Ghana’s mortgage finance regulatory framework. The institutional autopsy framework considers the iterative process of change in a system and allows for context-specific system analysis.
Findings
The authors note that for a long period of about 68 years (1940-2008), some of the legal rules regulating mortgage finance were not typical of the hypothesised characteristics of the English common law tradition. These rules, including, interest rate controls, excessive entry barriers, loan default guarantee discriminations and complex foreclosure procedures, tended to inadequately protect creditors. In the context of the history of military rule and law-making, judicial discretion that could have promoted legal efficiency and strengthened contract enforcement was also limited. During this period, the legal system demonstrated a concentrated and coordinative character. New legislation in the form of the Home Mortgage Finance Act 2008 (Act 770) attempts to resolve some of these bottlenecks and improve creditor rights protection.
Research limitations/implications
The study focuses solely on how the legal institution affects creditor protection and mortgage finance in Ghana.
Practical implications
Policy-wise, the study deepens the understanding of the channels through which the law affects the development of mortgage finance.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the methodology used (institutional autopsy) is novel in the context of analysing mortgage finance.
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Salman Bahoo, M. Kabir Hassan, Andrea Paltrinieri and Ashraf Khan
The purpose of this paper is to propose a model of the Islamic sovereign wealth funds (ISWFs) based on Islamic finance principles to modify the precarious image of SWFs from…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a model of the Islamic sovereign wealth funds (ISWFs) based on Islamic finance principles to modify the precarious image of SWFs from Muslim countries. The Shariah laws are the cardinal direction for this study.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors applied a qualitative research technique that consists of three approaches: exploratory case study approach to critically examine and rank the existing status of SWFs; descriptive analysis; and content analysis to present a model of ISWFs in comparison of conventional SWFs.
Findings
The authors propose a model of the “Islamic Sovereign Wealth Funds” based on four key pillars: the major Shariah principles; the Islamic corporate governance framework; the Islamic transparency and disclosure framework; and the Islamic corporate social responsibility framework. Furthermore, the authors argue that the potential effect of the ISWFs on Islamic finance and economy will be positive.
Research limitations/implications
The model is an initial work and idea to convert SWFs from Muslim countries into ISWFs, which required an in-depth policy review by governments.
Practical implications
The findings of the paper are useful for policymakers and governments of the Muslim countries to overcome the issues and criticism on SWFs by converting them in ISWFs.
Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature related to Islamic finance and sovereign wealth fund by presenting a first model of ISWFs for Muslim countries.
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Paul M. Vaaler, Ruth V. Aguilera and Ricardo Flores
International business research has long acknowledged the importance of regional factors for foreign direct investment (FDI) by multinational corporations (MNCs). However…
Abstract
International business research has long acknowledged the importance of regional factors for foreign direct investment (FDI) by multinational corporations (MNCs). However, significant differences when defining these regions obscure the analysis about how and why regions matter. In response, we develop and empirically document support for a framework to evaluate alternative regional grouping schemes. We demonstrate application of this evaluative framework using data on the global location decisions by US-based MNCs from 1980 to 2000 and two alternative regional grouping schemes. We conclude with discussion of implications for future academic research related to understanding the impact of country groupings on MNC FDI decisions.
Ruth V. Aguilera and Kurt A. Desender
Purpose – This chapter discusses the role that indices of corporate governance have had in comparative corporate governance research.Design/Methodology/Approach – The authors…
Abstract
Purpose – This chapter discusses the role that indices of corporate governance have had in comparative corporate governance research.
Design/Methodology/Approach – The authors begin with a short discussion of what corporate governance is and its main debates. Then, the authors review the main indices (which are also summarized in Table 1), highlighting their strengths and limitations as well as describing some of the findings that emanate from them. Then, the authors discuss the methodological and conceptual assumptions of corporate governance indices that may compromise their construct validity. The authors conclude with some encouraging suggestions for key methodological and research design issues to take into account in future comparative corporate governance.
Findings – Many methodological issues in the measuring and analysis of (comparative) corporate governance remain to be solved. First, although corporate governance practices have a direct effect on some of the firms’ strategic decisions, they may only have an indirect effect on firm performance. Second, it is possible that, after all, causality goes the other way around, i.e., the firm performance explains the adoption of certain governance practices. Third, there are also important challenges in measuring firm financial performance as well as measuring and comparing corporate governance effectiveness between firms from different governance settings.
Originality/Value – This is one of the first chapter to give an overview of the most current corporate governance indices, both academic and commercial, to discuss their underlying assumptions and limitations, and, finally, to provide specific directions for future research regarding comparative corporate governance.
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Simon S. Gao, Gordon Gao and Tianxi Zhang
Purpose – The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of China's 2005 shareholding reform and investigate the relationship of the changes of state-owned…
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this study is to empirically evaluate the effectiveness of China's 2005 shareholding reform and investigate the relationship of the changes of state-owned shareholdings and the largest shareholdings with corporate performance.
Methodology/approach – This study uses a sample of 470 listed firms that were subject to China's 2005 shareholding reform with data from 2004 and 2006. First, we examine whether the reform has reduced state-owned shareholdings measured by ownership concentration and the largest shareholdings through comparing shareholder structures of the reformed listed companies prior to and after the reform. Second, regression analysis was used to explore the relationship between the change of ownership concentration and largest shareholdings and corporate performance of Chinese listed firms.
Findings – This study reveals the effectiveness of the shareholding reform as both ownership concentration and largest shareholdings decrease. This study presents evidence suggesting a positive impact of China's 2005 shareholding reform on corporate performance and endorsing the notion that state-owned shareholdings are detrimental to corporate performance.
Research limitations – ROE is used as a measure of corporate performance, which is influenced by the rules of accounting standards and corporate behavior.
Originality/value – This study provides empirical evidence on the effectiveness of China's shareholding reform and shows a positive relation between the reduction of ownership concentration and corporate performance. This is the first study to examine this relation using the cases of Chinese listed companies. The findings have implications to regulatory bodies, public listed firms and investors in China in terms of corporate governance and shareholding configuration.
If donors cannot even agree about what institutions are and do not clearly understand how to promote deliberate institutional change, then what are ideas and assumptions that…
Abstract
If donors cannot even agree about what institutions are and do not clearly understand how to promote deliberate institutional change, then what are ideas and assumptions that inform their institutional reforms? In each wave of reforms, donors’ interventions and practices have been grounded in layers of unjustified assumptions – explicit or implicit – on the nature of institutions and institutional change, rather than on robust empirical research and analysis of lessons from previous reforms. These assumptions, despite evidence from previous reforms that they are misguided, have been accumulated and passed on to newcomers in the donor community. These assumptions are referred to here as myths.
Nikitas N. Karanikolas and Michael Vassilakopoulos
The purpose of this paper is to compare the use of two Object-Relational models against the use of a post-Relational model for a realistic application. Although real-world…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare the use of two Object-Relational models against the use of a post-Relational model for a realistic application. Although real-world applications, in most cases, can be adequately modeled by the Entity-Relationship (ER) model, the transformation to the popular Relational model alters the representation of structures common in reality, like multi-valued and composite fields. Alternative database models have been developed to overcome these shortcomings.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the ER model of a medical application, this paper compares the information representation, manipulation and enforcement of integrity constraints through PostgreSQL and Oracle, against the use of a post-Relational model composed of the Conceptual Universal Database Language (CUDL) and the Conceptual Universal Database Language Abstraction Level (CAL).
Findings
The CAL/CUDL pair, although more periphrastic for data definition, is simpler for data insertions, does not require the use of procedural code for data updates, produces clearer output for retrieval of attributes, can accomplish retrieval of rows based on conditions that address composite data with declarative statements and supports data validation for relationships between composite data without the need for procedural code.
Research limitations/implications
To verify, in practice, the conclusions of the paper, complete implementation of a CAL/CUDL system is needed.
Practical implications
The use of the CAL/CUDL pair would advance the productivity of database application development.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the properties of realistic database-applications modelling and management that are desirable by developers and shows that these properties are better satisfied by the CAL/CUDL pair.
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Corporate social responsibility describes the role that society expects of business organizations. Because it is difficult to see societal norms in one's own society, comparative…
Abstract
Corporate social responsibility describes the role that society expects of business organizations. Because it is difficult to see societal norms in one's own society, comparative law can help us increase the salience of those norms in our own community. Looking at how a set of business laws uniform across 16 West and Central African countries lives in one of the member states, Cameroon, we see that society expresses its norms not only when behavior tracks the positive law, but also, and very importantly, when it diverges from that law. After studying examples of divergence in the South, specifically in the African country Cameroon, the chapter turns to the North. Using the United States as the illustration, and focusing on the role of business entities, the chapter identifies ways of opening the discussion among all political constituents, even those outside the traditional business community.