“Diamonds and rust” on Russia's road to privatization: The profits and pitfalls for western managers

McCarthy and Puffer focus on large, state-owned Russian enterprises, and explore what changes have occurred in them during the recent privatization process. They compare the conditions facing Russian managers in these firms at the beginning of 1995 with the situations reported by managers of state-owned enterprises during the early stages of privatization in 1992. They make several recommendations to Western business managers to assist them in uncovering the potential “diamonds” among Russian enterprises, rather than wasting time fruitlessly scraping at the rust of others.     

Rigorous privatization: The New Zealand experience

New Zealand's experience with privatization is considered by many to be as near “textbook” as the circumstances of politics and business will permit. Franks' analyzes the privatization strategies followed in radically reforming an economy driven by state-owned enterprises.     

Whither State Ownership? The Persistence of State-Owned Industry in Postsocialist Central and Eastern Europe

After widespread privatization in the 1990s, the early 2000s witnessed the reemergence and consolidation of state owned industries in the postsocialist states of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). To counter views that state owned industries have largely disappeared from postsocialist CEE due to extensive privatization, the paper demonstrates the continued economic significance of state owned industries across the region. The paper then offers a typology of state-firm relations and highlights differences in empirical cases of large state-owned firms that have emerged in the region, distinguishing between market-oriented and politicized firms. Finally, the paper develops a comparative, macro-level processual analysis accounting for the institutional and political factors that explain why some postsocialist states have developed state-owned industries that operate successfully in competitive markets while others have developed highly politicized state-controlled firm. It finds that political factors are what chiefly account for the emergence of successful state sectors in the region.     

民营化、国有化与中国国有银行改革

国有银行自上世纪70年代中期以来出现了民营化的国际趋势,一些国家因此发生了银行危机.而此前全球曾有过国有化浪潮.虽然国有银行效率比民营银行低,但经验研究却表明,国有银行与银行危机之间没有或很少有因果关系;而且由于有政府信誉担保不易发生挤兑.中国国有银行改革过程实际上是政府逐步放弃控制权的过程,但切不可因效率而忽视金融稳定;简单地依靠所有权变更无法解决国有银行脆弱性问题;而且,与境外战略投资者合作时要谨防金融主权失控风险.     

The privatization of swarzedz furniture company (SFM): Lessons from Poland's first underwritten public offering

The sale through public offering of Poland's Swarzedz Furniture Company demonstrates that relatively complex privatization transactions can be successfully implemented in economies where capital market institutions have not yet fully emerged. However, the company's performance before and after privatization suggests that a change of ownership is a necessary, but not a sufficient, requirement for effective restructuring of a state-owned enterprise in a formerly socialist economy.     

Policy transfer and policy inertia: privatization in Taiwan

In recent years, privatization seems to have been more talked about than carried out in a number of countries. This study looks at the progress of privatization in Taiwan in the light of the literature on policy transfer. Although the government of Taiwan announced a privatization programme in the late 1980s, by the end of 1998 sales of state-owned enterprises had occurred much more slowly than planned. The first part of the article reviews the literature on policy transfer. Policy transfer has been described as the process by which policies transfer from one country to another due to mimetic, normative or coercive effects. Taiwan's privatization programme is then reviewed and the main barriers to change are identified. The study concludes by considering the implications of Taiwan's record on privatization for our understanding of policy transfer in an international context.     

State ownership and internationalization: The advantage and disadvantage of stateness

We critically review the literature on state-owned multinationals to clarify previous arguments and guide future studies. The content analysis of prior research reveals that state-owned firms differ from private firms in their internationalization: they are motivated by national strategic objectives, select more challenging countries, and use acquisitions more intensively despite adverse market reactions. The analysis also reveals conflicting predictions on the level of internationalization; some studies find that state-owned multinationals internationalize more while others find the contrary. We introduce one solution to these conflicts by classifying theories into two camps based on the balance between the costs and benefits of state ownership. One camp suggests a disadvantage of stateness (agency theory, resource dependence theory, and neo-institutional theory). Another camp promotes an advantage of stateness (economic development, resource-based view, and institutional economics). We conclude by outlining three promising relationships in the study of these firms: (1) relationships internal to state-owned multinationals and the balancing of stakeholder demands; (2)relationships between state-owned multinationals and government and the influence of the political system; and (3) relationships between home and host country governments and the impact of their dynamics on state-owned multinationals.     

Foreign acquisition and post-privatization exit of state-owned firms

This paper analyzes the impact of foreign and domestic ownership on the exit rates of privatized state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in transitional countries. The exit of privatized SOEs can have a profound impact on employment and on the development of local economies of transitional countries. An oligopoly model that incorporates country-level trade costs and individual SOE's productivity is developed to assess the exit of SOEs under either foreign or domestic ownership. The model shows that market competition between firms can lead to liquidation of the SOE by a domestic firm when trade costs increase. When the productivity of SOE is high, neither foreign nor domestic firm will liquidate. The predictions of the model are tested using firm-level privatization data from Central and Eastern Europe. By controlling for productivity, trade costs, and other attributes of SOEs after privatization, it is found that foreign ownership significantly reduces the probability of SOE's exit as compared to domestic ownership. Furthermore, there is evidence that as trade costs increase, the exit probability of domestically owned SOEs increases and the exit probability of foreign-owned SOEs declines.     

Privatizing a distressed state-owned enterprise: Lessons learned through privatization work in Argentina's steel sector

Governments and private investors often widely differ on the definition of value in the privatization of a state-owned enterprise. Many governments attempt to privatize businesses that have questionable potential of creating value from future operation. Mooney and Griffith discuss the issues which arise during the privatization of a “distressed” enterprise through the case experience of Sociedad Mixta Siderurgia Argentina (SOMISA).     

Exploring corporate entrepreneurship in privatized firms

This paper reports an analysis of whether state-owned enterprises (SOEs) increase their levels of corporate entrepreneurship after privatization. The study uses agency theory to discuss why SOEs display little entrepreneurial behavior and how privatization may alter this situation by changing firms’ systems of controls and incentives. The study also uses a sample of Spanish firms for its empirical research. Data on these firms were available for three years before and after privatization. The findings show that corporate entrepreneurship increases after privatization when firms are in highly competitive industries, either because competition was greater after privatization or because the firm was already in a highly competitive industry. In summary, corporate entrepreneurship in privatized firms seems to be favored by two factors, a change of ownership and competition.     

What causes Chinese listed firms to switch bank loan provider? Evidence from a survival analysis

This paper analyses the duration of firm-bank relationships and examines what drives firms in China to change from one bank loan provider to another. Matched data of firm-loan-duration to bank provides a unique panel data set of relationship between China's listed firms and their lending banks consisting of 2102 firms listed on both the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange in the period of 1996–2016. The Cox proportional hazard model is used to allow for a semiparametric hazard function after parametrically controlling for firm-specific financial factors, industry factors, ownership characteristics, internal management changes, and external macroeconomic changes. In addition, we explore the impact of the 2008 financial crisis, bank-financial and ownership characteristics. The main finding of this study is that in an environment of growing commercialisation of relationships the firm-bank relationship between state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and state-owned banks (SOBs) in China remains super-stable. However, a change in the CEO of a firm even of a SOE increases the probability of the loan-provider being changed.     

混合所有制企业的民营化程度如何影响高管薪酬-业绩敏感性？

在中国深化改革、推进转型的特殊背景下，探索出一条适合中国混合所有制企业实际情况的高管薪酬制度改革路径是现阶段中国国有企业改革亟待解决的问题之一。高管的薪酬-业绩敏感性是判断薪酬激励契约有效性的主要指标，基于此，文章首先构建一个委托-代理框架下的寡头市场模型，从理论上分析混合所有制企业的民营化程度与高管薪酬-业绩敏感性之间的关系；其次选择2007—2016年沪深两市A股经过民营化的国有控股上市公司数据进行实证检验。结果发现：总体上，提高混合所有制企业的民营化程度会显著增强高管薪酬-业绩敏感性；进一步分析发现，混合所有制企业中非国有股比例小于67%时，提高民营化程度会降低高管的薪酬-业绩敏感性；非国有股比例介于67%~75%之间时，提高民营化程度对高管薪酬-业绩敏感性没有显著影响；非国有股比例大于75%时，提高民营化程度会提升高管的薪酬-业绩敏感性。     

Privatization in Africa

The state-owned enterprise has become synonymous with governance in Africa. However performance of these enterprises and national economies as a whole has been extremely disappointing. As African governments become more hard pressed to fund national budgets, privatization has gathered momentum as the solution to effect economic adjustment and mobilize sorely needed investment capital. Drum focuses on the privatization programs of Nigeria, Senegal and Togo in his attempt to determine what works and what does not.     

British privatization: Evaluating the results

The 24 studies reviewed here reveal that nine of the 13 primary objectives of the U.K.'s privatization program have substantially been achieved. Privatization has reduced the size and scope of government, reduced political interference in management decisions, freed government funds so they can be used in sectors of the economy other than state-owned businesses, created a free market economy, promoted domestic investment, benefited the economy through higher returns on capital invested in privatized businesses, generated new sources of tax revenue, broadened domestic equity ownership and promoted equity ownership among employees of privatized businesses. Most of the research reviewed concludes that privatization has reduced the government's budget deficit; provided consumers with improved service, better quality, more choices, new products and lower prices; and improved the efficiency and performance of privatized firms. Finally, most of the studies reviewed report mixed results regarding the privatization program's success at reducing government control of business.     

Building marketing strategies for state-owned enterprises against private ones based on the perspectives of customer satisfaction and service quality

In the process of deregulation and privatization, profit-seeking state-owned as well as private enterprises typically compete directly in the same market. This paper employed two data sets, namely those from the banking and gas station industries in Taiwan, to fulfill two objectives. The first is to evaluate the effectiveness of state-owned enterprises as measured by service quality and customer satisfaction. The second objective is to develop the key marketing strategies for these state-owned enterprises according to simultaneous importance-performance analysis. The results show that customers’ overall satisfaction with state-owned enterprises is much lower than that with private competitors, a fact mainly attributed to the formers’ poor service quality. Marketing strategies for state-owned enterprises should concentrate on employee-related service quality attributes. In the short-run, ability-related attributes can be improved through effective standardized operating procedures, employee training and sufficient manpower. In the long run, attitude-related attributes can be transformed through a customer-oriented culture.     

网络产业的市场结构重组、民营化与网络瓶颈

在传统体制下,电信、电力、铁路运输、管道燃气、自来水等网络产业基本上是由国有企业垄断经营的。因此,以促进竞争为导向的市场结构重组与民营化是这些网络产业改革的两大主题。但网络产业的改革必然凸现网络瓶颈,这要求政府制定与实施有效的接入管制政策。     

中国垄断性产业改革对管制机构的需求

在相当长的时期中,中国对垄断性产业实行国有企业垄断经营的管理体制,但这种传统体制存在低效率问题,这导致对垄断性产业实行以促进竞争与民营化为两大主题的体制改革,而这种改革要求有效管制相协调,从而产生对高效率管制机构的客观需求。     

Privatization strategies: Is Brazil moving in the wrong gear?

In the 1980s, marketization strategies gained momentum around the globe. Increasingly, the visible hand was being replaced by a revival of neoliberal growth strategies. Privatization was a response to state-owned enterprise, sluggish performance, and excessive intervention in sectors not requiring assistance. In many countries the state became the problem and not the solution for further gains in competitiveness and efficiency. Privatization strategies were implemented more aggressively in Latin America in the 1980s and early 1990s. In Brazil, the largest economy in Latin America, policymakers used erratic strategies from the early 1980s through the early 1990s. This article addresses the Brazilian privatization experience, paying heed to the dynamics of the different strategies pursued throughout the privatization programs and elaborating on the specific steps taken by the Brazilian policymakers. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Supplier-purchaser relationships within a quasi-market: the case of British Rail and British Steel track products

Over the last decade there have been significant changes to the traditional purchaser-supplier relationship within industrial organizations. This has involved reforming old-style purchasing relationships, which relied on several alternative suppliers competing mainly on price, to the preferred single-sourcing relationships, with accompanying mutuality of benefits to the partners involved. This change has been highlighted by the success of Japanese manufacturing firms. However, the process of change is a difficult task for any organization to achieve. It is even more difficult in public-sector organizations, where profit-maximizing aims have not been central to organizational behaviour, and where past practice has been the basis for current operational decisions. However, government policy of privatization and the development of public sector ‘quasi-markets’ has resulted in a shift of emphasis and a consequent re-examination of operational practices in the light of market discipline. Public-sector organizations operate in markets constrained by political parameters, but privatization and the development of a commercial approach have led to many public-sector organizations' adopting the business style of private sector companies. This paper aims to recount some of the problems that British Rail (BR) experienced in this transition period and how it managed this change process, and to summarize some of the key considerations for developing and sustaining ‘partnerships’ between purchaser and supplier.     

我国上市公司内部治理结构影响自愿披露水平的实证分析

本文以我国上市公司2004年年度报告为研究对象,通过构建自愿披露指数回归模型,从公司内部治理视角实证分析了影响我国上市公司自愿披露水平的相关因素。研究表明,上市公司自愿披露水平与国有股持股比例、董事会持股成员比例、忙碌独立董事比例存在显著负相关关系,而与监事会持股成员比例存在显著正相关关系。