Corporate Carbon Strategies in Responding to Climate Change

With climate change emerging as one of the most important issues affecting the business circle, companies have begun considering the carbon issue in their overall strategic positioning. However, few studies have examined the corporate carbon strategies in developing and advanced developing countries, where climate change regulation is extensive and market uncertainty is relatively high. In addition, there has been growing interest among researchers and practitioners concerning the relationship between the carbon strategy and firm performance. This paper presents a framework for identifying the corporate carbon strategy. The cluster analysis of 241 Korean companies indicates six types of corporate carbon strategy: ‘wait‐and‐see observer’, ‘cautious reducer’, ‘product enhancer’, ‘all‐round enhancer’, ‘emergent explorer’ and ‘all‐round explorer’. This study empirically examines whether there are differences between these carbon strategy types in terms of the sector, firm size and firm performance. The results indicate a significant relationship between a firm's carbon strategy and its sector and size but a significant relationship between the carbon strategy and firm performance is not confirmed. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Human resource management and organizational strategies in German- and US-owned companies

The development of the international economy over the past twenty years has bred considerable diversity in the form and substance of employment relations (labour-management relations, human resource management practices) throughout the world. Cases of ‘social partnership’ are today found in the ‘free market’ United States economy; some companies operating in Germany's ‘social’ market economy are rejecting traditional forms of social partnership in the name of more unilateral strategies.

This paper examines (a) the extent to which ‘strategic diversity’ – variation in human resource strategies and policies – is possible within the heavily institutionalized, co-operative and codeterminative German economy, and (b) how managers perceive the effects of different kinds of HR approaches on organizational change and industrial adjustment. It is based on empirical evidence drawn from seven large chemicals companies operating in Germany – three of them US-owned firms and four German-owned.

The main conclusions are that considerable strategic diversity is possible within the German context, and that managers perceive distinct costs and benefits to specific aspects of the typically American ‘unilateral’ style and the more German ‘negotiated’ approach to structuring the relationship with human resources. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of these trade-offs for the transferability of HR strategies across international borders, giving special attention to policies to avoid some of these potential costs.     

The contours of employee voice in SMEs: the importance of context

This article develops a context‐sensitive approach to analyse how and why voice operates in small‐ to medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs), an area that remains under‐theorised and under‐researched. By building on a priori frameworks with proven ability to unpack complexity and take account of the wider context of SMEs, this article explores how resources (human and social capital) and constraints (product market, labour market and strategic orientation) interact to shape voice practices. The article finds significant differences between ‘reported’ compared with ‘actual’ practices in situ, and identifies different types of firms (‘strategic market regulation’, ‘strategic market‐led’ and ‘non‐strategic market‐led’) along with the factors that influence the form and practice of voice. Overall, the article argues that researchers should further pursue research that appreciates the layered nature of ontology and the role played by firm context to explain complex organisational phenomena, if we are to advance our understanding of voice practices in SMEs and beyond.     

Beyond Circular Thinking: Geographies of Transit‐Oriented Development

Transit‐oriented development (TOD) plays a significant role within contemporary planning policies for ‘smart growth’ and sustainable development, particularly in Europe and North America. As a well‐rehearsed practice, this planning model is due for critical assessment and improvement in terms of its ability to incorporate dynamic and heterogeneous socio‐spatial processes as matters of concern. Analyses of the conditions for ‘making TOD work’ in the scholarly and professional literatures tend to focus on the ‘node’ and ‘place’ qualities. While elaborations on node analysis (primarily based on accessibility measurements) abound within empirical research, discussions of place‐specific assets are limited in scope and often spatially bounded by the circle defined by a 10‐minute walk. This essay examines the use of this generic ‘circle’ model, and how it normatively frames how place is understood in TOD studies. We argue that the circle enhances a Euclidean understanding of the site, which favours a static and homogeneous spatial analysis of accessibility and density rather than (other) place qualities relating to dynamic socio‐spatial processes. Finally, we argue that relational geography can facilitate an analysis of place qualities beyond the circle—one in which both the continuities and shifting settings of the wider context are meaningfully taken into consideration.     

Finance and Growth: Evidence from Some Arab Countries

Abstract

Some analysts contend that the ‘size effect’ -the higher returns associated with small-capitalization companies over those with large-capitalization, are a myth. Most empirical studies to date relate to U.S. stock exchanges. Since the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange is considered an ‘emerging market,’ it is valuable to explore this phenomenon in this market.

This empirical study considers the performance of individual stocks and two alternative portfolios. The results show that the ‘size effect’ does not exist on the TASE, and that the large-capitalization stocks and portfolios generated higher returns versus their small-capitalization counterparts. Thus, the ‘size effect’ may only be a myth.     

Extreme US stock market fluctuations in the wake of 9/11

We apply extreme value analysis to US sectoral stock indices in order to assess whether tail risk measures like value‐at‐risk and extremal linkages were significantly altered by 9/11. We test whether semi‐parametric quantile estimates of ‘downside risk’ and ‘upward potential’ have increased after 9/11. The same methodology allows one to estimate probabilities of joint booms and busts for pairs of sectoral indices or for a sectoral index and a market portfolio. The latter probabilities measure the sectoral response to macro shocks during periods of financial stress (so‐called ‘tail‐βs’). Taking 9/11 as the sample midpoint we find that tail‐βs often increase in a statistically and economically significant way. This might be due to perceived risk of new terrorist attacks. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Corporate Governance in China: A Meta‐Analysis

How has the impact of ‘good corporate governance’ principles on firm performance changed over time in China? Amassing a database of 84 studies, 684 effect sizes, and 547,622 firm observations, we explore this important question by conducting a meta‐analysis on the corporate governance literature on China. The weight of evidence demonstrates that two major ‘good corporate governance’ principles advocating board independence and managerial incentives are indeed associated with better firm performance. However, we cannot find strong support for the criticisms against CEO duality. In addition, we go beyond a static perspective (such as certain governance mechanisms are effective or ineffective) by investigating the temporal hypotheses. We reveal that over time, with the improvement in the quality of market institutions and development of financial markets, the monitoring mechanisms of the board and state ownership become more strongly related to firm performance, whereas the incentive mechanisms lose their significance. Overall, our findings advance a dynamic institution‐based view by substantiating the case that institutional transitions matter for the relationship between governance mechanisms and firm performance in the second largest economy in the world.     

Strategic decisions regarding the vertical integration of human resource organizations: evidence for an integrated HR model for the financial services and non-financial services industry in Germany,Austria and Switzerland

We examine the drivers of vertical integration for an integrated and unified HR-process model for 42 large companies from the financial services (13 companies) and the non-financial services sector (29 companies). The basis of this paper is formed by the results of a survey analysing the structures, processes and sourcing activities of human resource organizations. We sent the survey to 500 companies in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. The survey is based on an integrated process model that uses an employee life-cycle approach and differentiates between eight HR activities.

The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to gain insights into the current status of HR outsourcing and understand the differences between the financial services and the non-financial services industry. Second, to develop a theory-based framework (transaction-cost, resource-based, principal agent) enabling us to derive and test eight hypotheses using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS)-regression analysis in order to examine the determinants of the vertical integration of HR processes. Third, to analyse the impact of the vertical integration of HR departments on company performance and characteristics. We find significant differences in the level of vertical integration between the HR subprocesses analysed. Even the processes with increased outsourcing activities (i.e. a lower degree of vertical integration) still show a relatively high proportion of in-house production.

Regression analysis reveals a significant negative interrelationship between the relative size of the HR department compared to company size and vertical integration. This finding holds for the HR subprocesses ‘Personnel Administration’, ‘Payroll and Benefits’, and ‘Off Boarding’. Second, we find a significant negative correlation between financial performance in terms of Return-on-Equity and vertical integration of ‘HR-IT’. We also find support for the theoretical framework for the subprocess ‘HR-Top Management’. Six hypotheses (out of eight) are supported by the analyses; two of these are highly significant.

Three major findings are noteworthy when analysing company performance and the vertical integration of HR departments. First, we find that large companies (in terms of total staff and total assets) display significantly high levels of vertical integration for subprocesses which include a large amount of manual work and crucial managerial, controlling and reporting tasks (‘HR-Top Management’ and ‘HR-Controlling and Reporting’). Second, large companies (in terms of total company staff) show lower levels of vertical integration for the HR subprocess ‘HR-IT’. Third, companies that show superior financial performance in terms of Return on Equity (RoE) display lower levels of vertical integration for the HR subprocess ‘HR-IT’.     

Dynamics of Inventor Networks and the Evolution of Technology Clusters

Clusters are important drivers of regional economic growth. Although their benefits are well recognized, research into their evolution is still ongoing. Most real‐world clusters seem to have emerged spontaneously without deliberate policy interventions, each cluster having its own evolutionary path. Since there is a significant gap in our understanding of the forces driving their evolution, this study uses a quantitative approach to investigate the role of inventor collaboration networks in it. Inventor collaboration networks for 30 top‐performing American metropolitan clusters were constructed on the basis of patent co‐authorship data. The selected clusters operate in hi‐tech fields: information technology, communications equipment and the biopharmaceutical industry. Starting from a widely accepted hypothesis that the ‘small‐world’ structure is an optimal one for knowledge spillovers and promotes innovation effectively, the authors statistically tested the impact of ‘small‐world’ network properties on cluster innovation performance proxied by patent output. The results suggest that the effect of the small‐world structure is not as significant as theorists hypothesized, not all clusters benefit from the presence of inventor collaboration networks, and cluster performance can be affected by policy interventions. Our analyses also suggest that cluster typology moderates the impact of inventor network properties on cluster innovation performance.     

制度条件、机构投资者与上市公司市场价值

上市公司市场价值是投资者获得投资收益的主要来源,公司市场价值的提升是投资者保护的重要体现。本文在制度分析的基础上,通过面板数据模型,实证分析中国机构投资者提升上市公司市场价值的制度条件。结果发现,机构投资者提升上市公司市场价值的作用受到机构持股数量和上市公司所有权性质的影响。较高的持股比例是机构投资者提升上市公司市场价值的重要条件;而上市公司的国有控制特征降低了机构投资者的上市公司价值提升作用,并且国有控制的这种限制作用主要来自地方控制的上市公司。上述研究发现,对理解发展机构投资者的经济后果具有重要意义,有助于更加深入地理解机构投资者提升上市公司市场价值的制度条件,也为投资者保护研究提供了一个有益的视角。     

International pharmaceutical supply prices: Definitions — problems — policy implications

In cases where the buyer and the seller of goods and services are companies belonging to the same group the prices charged for goods and services are called ‘international delivery prices’ or ‘international transfer prices’. The peculiarities of research-based companies are such that attempts to ascertain in practice what constitutes an ‘appropriate’ international delivery price are beset by a number of problems. Any scheme that is devised to solve the problems of international transfer prices should feature general ‘rules’ on how the various countries ought to share in central costs. As international transfer prices are a prerequisite for an efficient world economy based on the division of labour an agreement should be reached on the design and content of suitable delivery price systems for a research-intensive industry.     

Beyond Prototypes: Drivers of Market Categorization in Functional Foods and Nanotechnology

We develop a nuanced understanding of what drives producers’ and audiences’ categorization activities throughout market category development. Prior research on market categories assumes prototypical similarity to be the main or even only driver of categorization. Drawing on a comparative, longitudinal case study of the market categories ‘functional foods’ and ‘nanotechnology’ in Finland, we find that evolving perceptions, knowledge, and goals also impact categorization. Furthermore, our analysis uncovers that goal‐based categorization is characteristic for vital market categories, and the lack thereof may mark a waning interest and category decline. Overall, while previous research stresses the role of clear boundaries and knowledge bases for a viable category, we find that overly strict boundaries may constrain category vitality and renewal.     

Evaluating environmental and social performance of large Portuguese companies: a balanced scorecard approach

A thematic balanced scorecard format was used to address environmental and social performance evaluation of 13 large companies operating in Portugal. Financial aspects of environmental and social company activities are also included. Companies were categorized as to their actual performance status using a predefined performance framework. Three categories were found: compliance with the law while emphasizing pollution control, pollution prevention and eco‐efficiency. Management tools and procedural matters were found to be most relevant for categorization. Often, reported information did not allow for quantitative evaluation of environmental burden reduction. Use of the thematic balanced scorecard format was useful to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of links between objectives and measurements, initiatives and achievements. Improvement as to environmental performance was found to be paralleled by increased social performance, suggesting that a multi‐level ‘sustainability’ performance categorization of these Portuguese companies is feasible. Driving forces for environmental management initiatives were found to differ by category of performance. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

An ‘incitement to discourse’: benchmarking as a springboard to sustainable development

Benchmarking, while belonging to the array of instruments associated with eco‐efficiency, eco‐modernism and ‘political sustainability’, provides a way in which corporations can be held to account in terms of their environmental and social responsibility. New Zealand lacked such benchmarks until the annual Survey of Corporate Environmental Responsiveness was introduced for top companies by turnover in 1999, exposing the myth of ‘clean and green’ New Zealand as far as environmental management of business was concerned, but providing a measure that has become a driver for many companies. The paper discusses outcomes of the benchmarking survey and describes how it has been employed as a Foucauldian ‘incitement to discourse’ with a focus group of participating companies, engaging them in a more dialectical discourse of sustainable development based in Critical Theory and perspectives from Foucault. Maori speak of their ‘turangawaewae’–having a ‘place to stand’. The survey provided the broader research programme with that place to stand in terms of creating a meaningful position for the researchers, and a degree of legitimacy, within the business context. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment.     

National influences on European Works Councils in UK‐ and US‐based companies

The view that the role of European Works Councils (EWCs) is shaped predominantly by national industrial relations (IR) traditions in the company's country of origin derives largely from the experience of EWCs in companies based in continental Europe. This article argues that a more differentiated approach to the influence of national IR factors on EWCs needs to be developed to take account of the circumstances of companies headquartered in the UK and the US, whose national IR arrangements do not provide a strong institutional model for the EWC and, in the case of US‐based companies, where headquarters management has little or no direct involvement in the EWC. Findings from comparative case studies of EWCs in eight UK‐ and US‐based multinationals suggest that their character is shaped by the interplay between ‘country‐of‐origin’ factors,‘country‐of‐location’ factors and structural, company‐specific considerations.     

Trade unions,collective bargaining and macroeconomic performance: a review

Coordination through collective bargaining is recognised as an influential determinant of labour market outcomes and macroeconomic performance. This article provides a systematic review of the empirical literature on the subject. What emerges from the review is that it is different types and coverage of bargaining coordination, rather than cross‐country variation in trade union density, that matter for economic performance. High levels of bargaining coverage tend to be associated with relatively poor economic performance, but this adverse relationship can be at least mitigated by high levels of bargaining coordination. In the absence of formal bargaining arrangements, economies often develop informal bargaining mechanisms whose effects are similar to those arising from formal bargaining provided they both operate at similar levels of coordination. The consequences of labour market coordination or absence thereof depend on the monetary policy regime as non‐accommodating monetary policy can eliminate some of the adverse unemployment consequences otherwise associated with industry‐level collective bargaining. Finally, bargaining coordination seems to matter most in times of rapid economic change rather than under more stable conditions. Overall, we conclude that it is the total ‘package’ of (formal and informal) labour market institutions that matters for the performance of the economy rather than unionisation as such or individual aspects of unionism.     

A New Strategy Against Hostile Takeovers: A Model of Defense in Participations

This article examines the efficacy of a ‘defense in participations’ policy consisting of competitors acquiring cross‐equity participations within the same industry to prevent hostile takeovers. This defense in participations strategy provides disincentive for raiders as partial ownerships increase market power of competitors and then reinforce the ‘outsider effect’. Also, we find conditions for a general result, which state that takeovers are less profitable in an industry with participations rather than in an industry without any capital links. We provide information to regulators about the positive social impact of cross participations in the context of mergers and expose an economic dilemma between a ‘laissez‐faire’ and an interventionist approach. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Work and employment in distribution and exchange: moments in the circuit of capital

This article examines the ‘politics of production’ within grocery warehousing and distribution. In doing so, it highlights the complex linkages between logistics companies and their dominant supermarket customers. Building on the work of Glucksmann and the notion of the ‘total social organisation of labour’, the article reveals how an understanding of employment change within grocery distribution necessarily involves mapping these linkages, thereby examining how they impact on the labour process. Drawing on case‐study evidence from two third‐party grocery distribution companies, it examines empirically the nature of the linkages between these organisations and their effects on the labour process. It also explores the extent to which organised labour within these interconnected distribution companies is able to mediate and re‐shape the requirements placed upon them by their customers. It concludes by highlighting how the power of the retailers and the corresponding ‘logistics revolution’ has reshaped the politics of production. In addition, it calls for an understanding of work and employment in warehousing and distribution, which engages with the complex articulation between production, distribution and exchange.     

Caveat emptor – let the buyer beware! environmental labelling and the limitations of ‘green’ consumerism

In recent years, the idea of ‘green’ or ‘political’ consumers expressing their political beliefs in everyday life has been widely embraced. Eager to satisfy the needs of this new market segment, firms have allocated substantial resources to environmental management, social accountability, corporate citizenship, occupational health and safety etc. During the 1990s, the industrialized world also witnessed a growing number of environmental labels, expected to guide the political consumers in their shopping decisions. Evaluations of these environmental labelling (eco‐labelling) programmes indicate that some labels and product groups receive a great deal of attention while others remain in obscurity. To understand these differences, the paper will discuss some of the factors that determine the market impact of environmental labelling. It is concluded that the concept of the ‘green’ consumer is over‐simplified and fails to capture the actual complexity of consumer values, attitudes and behaviour. The results are based on existing literature and our own empirical findings. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

The renewed ‘American Challenge’: a review of employment practice in US multinationals

Despite the extensive literature concerned with IR practice in American multinational companies (MNCs), there are serious gaps in our understanding of how this group of firms manages their international workforces. In this paper, we set out a framework of ‘four key influences’ on the way MNCs approach the management of labour and go on to use this framework to assess existing literature concerned with US MNCs. While this review reveals a number of general tendencies—for example, American MNCs tend to be highly centralised in the decision making on IR matters—it also reveals a number of gaps and weaknesses. In particular, we argue that previous research has failed to develop a convincing understanding of how the ‘embeddedness’ of US MNCs in their country of origin informs the behaviour of these firms as employers outside the USA. The paper ends by outlining a programme of research into US MNCs.