Balancing global and local strategic contexts: Expatriate knowledge transfer,applications, and learning within a transnational organization

We investigate how expatriates contribute to the transnational firm's strategic objectives of global efficiency, national (”local”) responsiveness, and worldwide learning. We focus on expatriate knowledge application and experiential learning achievements, two assignment‐based outcomes of potential strategic value to the firm. We assess how the individual's everyday knowledge access and communication activities, measured by frequency and geographic extent, affect these assignment outcomes. Within our case organization, a prototype transnational firm, we find that expatriate knowledge applications result from frequent knowledge access and communication with the corporate headquarters and other global units of the firm. In contrast, their experiential learning derives from frequent access to hostcountry (local) knowledge that subsequently is adapted to the global corporate context. From a practical perspective, we conclude that experiential learning is an invaluable resource for both present and future corporate assignments. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Industry and the Family: Two Engines of Growth

We generalize the class of endogenous growth models in which the scale of the economy has level rather than growth effects, and study the implications of different demographic and technological factors when both fertility choice and research effort are endogenous. The model incorporates two dimensions of technological progress: vertical (quality of goods) and horizontal (variety of goods). Both dimensions contribute to productivity growth but are driven by different processes and hence respond differently to changes in fundamentals. Specifically, while unbounded vertical progress is feasible, the scale of the economy limits the variety of goods. Incorporating a linearity in reproduction generates steady-state population growth and variety expansion. We thus have two engines of growth generating dynamics that we compare with observed changes in demographics, market structure, and patterns of growth. Numerical solutions yield the important insight that, while endogenous, fertility responds very little to industrial policies. Demographic shocks, in contrast, have substantial effects on growth.     

How Representative Are Firms That Are Cross‐Listed in the United States? An Analysis of Accounting Quality

We provide evidence on the characteristics of local generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) earnings for firms cross‐listing on U.S. exchanges relative to a matched sample of foreign firms currently not cross‐listing in the United States to investigate whether U.S. listing is associated with differences in accounting data reported in local markets. We find that cross‐listed firms differ in terms of the time‐series properties of earnings and accruals, and the degree of association between accounting data and share prices. Cross‐listed firms appear to be less aggressive in terms of earnings management and report accounting data that are more conservative, take account of bad news in a more timely manner, and are more strongly associated with share price. Furthermore, the differences appear to result partially from changes around cross‐listing and partially from differences in accounting quality before listing. We do not observe a similar pattern for firms cross‐listed on other non‐U.S. exchanges or on the U.S. over‐the‐counter market, suggesting a unique quality to cross‐listing on U.S. exchanges.     

Steven Topik, Carlos Marichal and Zephyr Frank, eds. From Silver to Cocaine: Latin American Commodity Chains and the Building of the World Economy, 1500-2000

Commodities have received significant scholarly and popularattention recently. But, unlike past commodity studies whichfocused on production or distribution, recent works are hybridsof history, economics, social geography, material culture, andcultural studies that ask where goods traveled, how they moved,in what quantities, who wanted them and, most elusive of all,why they were desirable. Relieved of their roles as mere economiccargoes or anthropological artifacts, commodities have gaineda new lease on life where,     

Where are all the gay fathers?: Reflections on recruiting gay fathers as participants in leisure research

ABSTRACT

There is a dearth of understanding of gay fathers’ perspectives on leisure studies topics. If researchers are to conduct research that better reflects all fathers, it is important to gain insights into recruiting gay fathers, and to ensure that gay fathers know that their perspectives are needed and desired. Thus, in this research note, we highlight two important reflections on the difficulties we encountered when attempting to recruit gay fathers as research participants: (1) Heteronormativity exists in leisure studies and it is problematic for the recruitment of gay fathers; and (2) understaffed organisations are at times unable to help recruit gay fathers for research. Researchers who work with gay fathers may draw on our reflections to overcome similar difficulties that they may face. It is our hope that our reflections may contribute towards achieving the important social justice goal of including gay fathers in leisure studies.     

Firm suburbanization and urban subcenters

The theory of firm location within an urban area is extended to consider a city in which firms can export their output via a suburban terminal as well as via the usual CBD terminal. Firms benefit from suburbanization since freight transport costs are reduced and since they can pay lower wages, but labor may be scarce in the suburbs. This forces suburban firms to readjust their wages, causing some workers to out-commute and giving all workers an incentive to relocate. The existence of an employment subcenter under labor scarcity conditions is shown to cause household utility levels to rise, the size of the metropolitan area to increase, and overall urban land value to change indeterminately. Finally, determination of the optimal location for a suburban terminal is considered.     

Globalization and domestic conflict

When a resource like oil is domestically contested, trade patters and welfare can be very different than when property rights are costlessly enforced. Whereas (small-country) importers of the contested resource gain unambiguously relative to autarky, exporters of the contested resource lose under free trade, unless the world price of the resource is sufficiently high. Regardless of what price obtains in world markets, countries tend to over-export the contested resource compared to the absence of conflict. For a wide range of prices, higher international prices of the contested resource reduce welfare, an instance of the “natural resource curse.”     

Trade Union Responses to zero hours work in Ireland

This paper examines the strategies adopted by Irish unions in responding to zero hours work in four sectors. It concludes that rather than adopting either a passive or a uniform approach, unions have pragmatically varied their strategies to curtail zero‐hours work through actively combining both bargaining and regulatory approaches.