What drives leverage in leveraged buyouts? An analysis of European leveraged buyouts’ capital structure

This paper examines leverage in European private equity‐led leveraged buyouts (LBOs). We use a unique, self‐constructed sample of 126 European private equity (PE)‐sponsored buyouts completed between June 2000 and June 2007. We find that determinants derived from classical capital structure theories do not explain leverage in LBOs, while they do drive leverage in a control group of comparable public firms. Rather, we document that leverage levels in LBOs are related to the prevailing conditions in the debt market. In addition, our results indicate that reputed private equity sponsors use more debt and that secondary buyouts have higher leverage levels.     

Measurement of Capital Flight: Methodology and Results for Sub‐Saharan African Countries*

Abstract: This paper presents the methodology for the computation of capital flight and reports new estimates of the magnitude and timing of capital flight from 33 sub‐Saharan African countries from 1970 to 2004. Our methodology calculates capital flight as the residual difference between inflows and outflows of foreign exchange recorded in the balance of payments, with corrections for the magnitude of external borrowing, trade misinvoicing, and unrecorded remittances. We find that total capital flight from these countries in this period amounted to $443 billion (in 2004 dollars). With imputed interest earnings, the accumulated stock of flight capital amounted to $640 billion. These numbers exceed these countries’ external debts, which in 2004 amounted to $193 billion, indicating that sub‐Saharan Africa is a net creditor to the rest of the world.     

The british clearing banks and north sea financing

This article reviews available data on North Sea financing with respect to the provision of funds for the offshore exploration and development effort of the oil companies, and for the onshore components suppliers and service companies. In particular it examines the role of the British clearing banks and the changes induced in their lending techniques and habits by the demands of the oil industry. It concludes that financial provision has been adequate and that neither the pace of oil development nor the participation of British industry in the offshore markets has suffered for lack of ready funding.     

Trends and projections for Bangladeshi food production : Rejoinder to M. Alauddin and C. Tisdell

This rejoinder considers the issues raised in an article by M. Alauddin and C. Tisdell on foodgrain production in Bangladesh: a comparison of official output statistics and a revised data series constructed by J.K. Boyce; methodological problems in growth rate estimation; and the ‘ustainability’ of Bangladeshi foodgrain production. In the author's view, the key constraint on agricultural growth in Bangladesh is the inability of cultivators to achieve effective water control, within the framework of an inequitable agrarian structure.     

The EU Insolvency Regulation,Revisited

After 10 years of use, the EU Insolvency Regulation was assessed and recast. The changes are intended to improve its functioning as market practice has moved on, and deal with, among other things, the processes subject to the Regulation, centre of main interests, secondary proceedings, co‐operation between courts and office‐holders, groups and interlinked insolvency registers. Copyright © 2015 INSOL International and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd     

A Scottish east coast European ferry service: review of the issues

Peripheral regions and nations within the EU generally enjoy a balanced mix of transport alternatives for access to the Continent's economic centre. Unique among peripheral regions and nations in Northern Europe, Scotland has no direct ferry service to the Continent and relies for access on ferry services from remote seaports, resulting in a greater relative dependence on land transport, particularly road. The evidence presented in this paper suggests that Scotland does not enjoy direct ferry access with the Continent due to any geographic or economic reason, rather the explanation is more to do with technological obsolescence of existing seaport infrastructure coupled with the lack of sufficient Government initiative to help promote direct links. Ultimately, a direct ferry service could help reduce the effects of peripherality and bring about further integration. It would also spread increasing transport demand across modes.     

Predictors of the adoption of work–care arrangements: a study of South African firms

This study examines predictors of work–care arrangements in South African organisations. It investigates the adoption of 23 work–care arrangements in organisations listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Organisational size, female presence in the organisation and in trade unions, female leadership and trade union density are tested as predictors of the adoption of these arrangements. In addition, foreign ownership, a previously untested variable predicting the adoption of work–care arrangements, is included in this study. The findings show that the level of adoption of work–care arrangements in South African organisations is low. Organisational size and female presence in senior managerial positions are found to be associated with the greater adoption of work–care arrangements. The study adds to existing work–family research by examining work–care integration in a non-Western context. Furthermore, the study is innovative in the addition of foreign ownership as an independent variable and the inclusion of a broader range of work–care arrangements in the study. The study is relevant for other developing nations and extends the existing research on employer involvement in work and care in developed nations.     

Role conflict and changing heritage practice: ancestral tourism in Scotland

ABSTRACT

Developing mutually beneficial outcomes in service encounters can be challenging due to resource asymmetry within co-created experiences. Such encounters can result in role conflict for service providers. Limited attention has been paid to the effect on service providers of highly collaborative exchanges which require specific customisation. An example of this is ancestral tourism, a dimension of heritage consumption, in which visitors actively participate in the co-creation of experience at museums, archives and related heritage sites. These institutions, previously seen as repositories of historical information, now act as conduits for visitors to investigate their ancestral past. The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between changing professional discourse in the cultural heritage sector, specifically ancestral tourism, and role conflict amongst staff. Through interviews conducted with professionals, the extent and outcomes of role conflict in complex and collaborative exchanges are explored.     

Strategic Experimentation in the Lab

This paper reports the results of experimental tests of the Nash equilibrium predictions in a one‐armed bandit game with information spillover. Players learn the probability that a risky prospect pays by either taking draws from the distribution themselves or observing the outcome of another player's choice. Our experiment is designed to learn whether players experiment strategically, anticipating the opportunity to free‐ride on others' information and doing so. While error rates exhibit a bias toward under‐experimentation, we observe a significant strategic effect. Structural parameter estimates suggest the lack of experimentation observed is due to decision error and somewhat pessimistic priors, rather than risk preferences or probability weighting. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The evolving direct-to-consumer retail model: A review and research agenda

The substantial growth of e-commerce sales, driven by digital advancements, has enticed brands to sell direct-to-consumers (DTC) online. Despite the growth of the DTC online retail model in practice, academic literature remains fragmented. This systematic review is timely as it meets the need for a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of DTC over two decades of research to 2023. A SPAR-4-SLR protocol combined with a Theory–Context–Methods (TCM) approach examines the extant literature through a marketing lens. An analysis of 81 articles reveals a need for consumer behavior theories to underpin research on the DTC retail model. We conclude the review by identifying areas for further development, such as the need for research on the technology-driven balance of power between brands, retailers, and consumers. Contextually, the authors highlight research opportunities on SME brands' internationalization and the DTC online luxury experience. Methodological directions include empirical qualitative studies and experiments on the emerging topics of technology-enabled retail services and the experiential e-commerce impact on customer experience. These future research undertakings will help us to better understand the DTC retail model.