Todd Shank, Ronald Paul Hill and John Stang
The purpose of this paper is to examine the continuing search for evidence that good corporate governance leads to positive organizational outcomes, and it presents a unique…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the continuing search for evidence that good corporate governance leads to positive organizational outcomes, and it presents a unique perspective on this issue based on firm size.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilized a comprehensive measure of governance as well as a risk‐adjusted measure of share price in its comparisons between companies known for good governance and broader markets composed of similar‐sized firms.
Findings
The findings show evidence of better risk‐adjusted performance across all recent sub‐periods (three‐, five‐, and ten‐year) for the firms in the smallest market capitalization category. Better risk‐adjusted returns were earned for only the ten‐year period for the largest firms and the overall US market. Mid‐cap stocks were not significant in any of the three periods studied. The fact that the small cap stocks showed significance for all three sub‐periods indicates the relationship between good corporate governance practices and the financial success of a company is the strongest for smaller firms and is more likely to be experienced in longer time horizons for most firms, small and large.
Research limitations/implications
Investigations of this seminal issue have produced mixed results because the operational definitions of governance often are too narrow, the timeframes for impact are too constricted, and the comparisons are too broad. In addition, the use of a novel approach for understanding why these findings may hold true provides scholars with new avenues for thinking about and modeling the governance‐performance relationship.
Practical implications
Good governance matters and requires managers and policy makers to find the appropriate context in order to have meaningful comparisons.
Social implications
The paper supports the “doing well while doing good” paradigm for both individual and institutional investors' investment choices by showing that selecting firms that practice good corporate governance can be a long‐term value‐maximizing strategy.
Originality/value
A major nuance from other studies of the impact of a firm's corporate governance performance on its financial performance is the authors' use of four sub‐categories of companies based on market capitalization/firm size. Findings ultimately show whether investors/owners reward corporate governance via stock purchases, and if so, how this relationship may have changed over the past decade according to various markets and risk‐adjusted returns.
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There is no argument among serious researchers that a mongoloid stock first colonized the New World from Asia. Nor is there controversy about the fact that these continental…
Abstract
There is no argument among serious researchers that a mongoloid stock first colonized the New World from Asia. Nor is there controversy about the fact that these continental pioneers used the Bering Land Bridge that then connected the Asian Far East with Alaska.– Gerald F. Shields, et al.American Journal of Genetics (1992)
The purpose of this paper is to propose a low-cost, high return model for implementing a programmatic foresight function that is collaboratively integrated with the organization’s…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a low-cost, high return model for implementing a programmatic foresight function that is collaboratively integrated with the organization’s existing policy, planning and intelligence (or policy research) functions. Focusing on government agencies, especially those supporting liberal democratic governments, the purpose of the current paper is to propose a new, practical, low-cost and high-return model for implementing a programmatic strategic foresight function that is collaboratively integrated with the organization’s existing policy, planning and intelligence functions. The paper describes the relevant organizational considerations and options for structural adjustments, and suggests how the proposed model can maximize decision-making effectiveness without disrupting pre-existing structures, operations and products. The paper further discusses the necessity and involvement of a central government foresight agency and a non-hierarchical distributed network linking the foresight units.
Design/methodology/approach
Possible solutions are considered with respect to costs of development and implementation, risk (likelihood, consequence and uncertainty) of the new function’s failure, direct negative or positive effect on the performance of existing functions, the level of cross-organizational involvement in or collaboration with the new function, the level of cross-organization tangible benefits and the level of vertical involvement, especially at the executive level.
Findings
With few exceptions, the implementation of foresight by governments has not been at all methodical, but has followed many different paths, where it has occurred at all. The approach proposed in this paper – establishing a central foresight agency, propagating individual agency-based small programmatic foresight units and virtual teams and creating a non-hierarchical distributed network to link all of them – appears to best meet the success criteria set out in the paper.
Research limitations/implications
Governments, especially liberal democratic ones, and their agencies that have previously shied away from methodically implementing strategic foresight or that have attempted to do so without real success now have an approach that is likely to produce the desired results.
Practical implications
The paper creates a sound framework for governments, especially liberal democratic ones, and their agencies to consider and proceed with the implementation of foresight functions and networks to support them.
Originality/value
The proposed approach is entirely new and generally challenges current practices.
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In view of the emphasis in cross-cultural research on negative factors such as cultural misfit, cultural distance, and the liability of foreignness, the purpose of this paper is…
Abstract
Purpose
In view of the emphasis in cross-cultural research on negative factors such as cultural misfit, cultural distance, and the liability of foreignness, the purpose of this paper is to offer one explanation for why this is the case and highlight the advantages of giving at least equal emphasis to research on positive factors. Three propositions are offered to guide future cross-cultural research.
Design/methodology/approach
Summaries of empirical studies on the inherent inclinations of human systems toward the negative, as well as inclinations toward the positive, produce explanations for each of these biases and their implications for cross-cultural scholarship.
Findings
By prioritizing positive factors instead of negative factors, individuals and organizations perform at much higher levels than when the reverse is the case. Virtuous practices, in particular, are associated with positively deviant performance. Inasmuch as virtuousness is universally valued, its emphasis can address some of the liabilities of difference inherent in cross-cultural contexts.
Originality/value
The three propositions offered in the paper explain why negative biases exist, how positive biases provide an advantage to individuals and organizations, and highlight future directions for cross-cultural research. Social scientists have been challenged to help enable 51 percent of the world’s population to flourish by mid-century, and prioritizing positive cross-cultural phenomena is one prescription for achieving that objective.
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This chapter discusses the extension of legal equality between male and female citizens in four states in North Africa – Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria – through one specific…
Abstract
This chapter discusses the extension of legal equality between male and female citizens in four states in North Africa – Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Algeria – through one specific lens: A married woman's legal capacity to initiate and obtain divorce without the husband's consent. Building on the works of Stein Rokkan and Reinhard Bendix on the expansion of citizenship to the ‘lower classes’, it is argued that amendments in divorce law by introducing in-court divorce for women, in addition to out-of-court divorce, is a significant institutional change that extends legal equality between men and women. The introduction of in-court divorce expands female citizenship by bolstering woman's juridical autonomy and capacity in state law. Changes in divorce laws are thus part of state centralization by means of standardizing rules that regulate family law through public administrative institutions rather than religious organizations. Two questions are addressed: First, how did amendments in divorce laws occur after independence? Second, in which ways did women's bolstered legal capacity in divorce have a spill over effect on reforms in other patriarchal state laws? Based on observations on sequences of change in four states in North Africa, it is argued that amendments that equalize between men and women in divorce should be seen as a key driver for reforms in other state laws, that reduce legal inequality between male and female citizens. In all four states, women's citizenship was extended in nationality law and criminal law after amendments in divorce law gave women unilateral legal power to exit a marital relationship.
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Robert E. Quinn and Kim S. Cameron
In this chapter, we assume the following: (1) the root cause of most organizational problems is culture and leadership, (2) executives seldom want to deal with these root causes…
Abstract
In this chapter, we assume the following: (1) the root cause of most organizational problems is culture and leadership, (2) executives seldom want to deal with these root causes, (3) because life is uncertain, organizational change is an emergent process, (4) most change processes unfold by reconstructing social reality, (5) the change process is inherently relational, (6) effective change efforts are enhanced by increasing the virtue of the actors, (7) change is embedded in the learning that flows from high-quality relationships, and (8) change agents may have to transcend conventional, economic exchange norms in order to demonstrate integrity and to build trust and openness. Drawing on the field of positive organizational scholarship, we focus on the change agent. We review the literature on self-change and offer several paths for becoming a positive leader.
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There is a long history of school failure for Aboriginals1 in the U.S. educational system. Culturally relevant/responsive pedagogy affords opportunities for Aboriginal students to…
Abstract
There is a long history of school failure for Aboriginals1 in the U.S. educational system. Culturally relevant/responsive pedagogy affords opportunities for Aboriginal students to achieve academic success through building upon their cultural heritages and Native ways of knowing. School systems adopting this pedagogy empower Indigenous students to connect with essential knowledge for academic success in today’s world. This enhanced pedagogy creates classrooms of involvement that promote Aboriginal students’ achievement. Preservice teachers employing this pedagogy will experience success with their Indigenous students and learn about Aboriginal communities, lifeways, and values. Mutual respect is engendered as long-perpetuated negative stereotypes of Native Americans are undone. Culturally relevant/responsive pedagogy can be tailored to specific populations by incorporating their own Aboriginal knowledge, languages, and practices into teaching praxis.
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This empirical study provides a phenomenological analysis of student veteran perceptions and experiences regarding student support programs in higher education and the…
Abstract
This empirical study provides a phenomenological analysis of student veteran perceptions and experiences regarding student support programs in higher education and the accommodations provided for student with hidden wounds, specifically posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. Qualitative data were collected through semistructured interviews to answer the research question: What are the traits of student support programs in US higher education institutions that assist in the successful degree completion of student veterans coping with hidden wounds? Participants were military veterans who recently attended undergraduate degree programs at US-based higher education institutions. Data analysis through in vivo and thematic coding showed dominant themes related to student expectations of student support programs. These themes included acknowledging specific needs of student veterans as nontraditional students, communication between students and institutions, awareness of the stigma around disabilities, standardization of services offered, social groups to connect veterans to other veterans, and need for proactive assessment of students unwilling to initiate accommodation requests. Practical implications for higher education leaders to improve current student support programs and future research recommendations are provided to expand upon the need for improving student support programs in America and abroad.