Wage differentials across sectors in Europe

Using a unique harmonized linked employer–employee dataset, this paper analyses the structure and determinants of inter‐industry wage differentials in Central and Eastern European countries (Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland) and compares them to those observed in Western European states. Findings show substantial differences in earnings across sectors in all countries, even when controlling for a wide range of employee, job and employer characteristics. The hierarchy of sectors in terms of wages appears to be quite similar in Eastern and Western European countries, although the former tend to have higher levels of dispersion of inter‐industry wage differentials.     

Outward Foreign Direct Investment by Chinese National Oil Companies

Developed countries have become increasingly suspicious about the rapid growth of Chinese investments in their home countries and abroad, commonly citing potential threats to national security and global governance as the main sources of anxieties. As a result, policy measures in some developed markets have been put in place to create additional regulation and oversight, specifically in highly regulated and strategic industries, such as the oil sector. This article refutes a number of popular myths about Chinese investments in the global oil industry, and suggests a more rigorous dialogue with the Chinese authorities relating to their integration into international institutions.     

Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets: New Insights and Directions for Future Research

In recent years, the entrepreneurship and emerging markets research streams have intersected. Emerging markets provide an opportunity to examine entrepreneurship in different contexts and forms. This article discusses the current literature that interconnects both research streams in general, comments on the contributions of the articles published in the special issue on entrepreneurship and emerging markets in particular, and sketches out future avenues for research. These contributions span several theoretical lenses, including institutional theory, internationalization theory, transaction cost economics, and the resource‐based view, as well as multiple geographic regions, including China as the largest emerging economy and other countries in East Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. We weave a discussion of the extant literature and these contributions inside three key themes: Emerging Markets and China's Uniqueness, Entrepreneurship in Emerging Markets, and Future Research on Emerging Markets Entrepreneurship. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Using Expectations to Test Asset Pricing Models

Asset pricing models generate predictions relating assets' expected rates of return and their risk attributes. Most tests of these models have employed realized rates of return as a proxy for expected return. We use analysts' expected rates of return to examine the relation between these expectations and firm attributes. By assuming that analysts' expectations are unbiased estimates of market-wide expected rates of return, we can circumvent the use of realized rates of return and provide evidence on the predictions emanating from traditional asset pricing models. We find a positive, robust relation between expected return and market beta and a negative relation between expected return and firm size, consistent with the notion that these are risk factors. We do not find that high book-to-market firms are expected to earn higher returns than low book-to-market firms, inconsistent with the notion that book-to-market is a risk factor.     

Executive perks: Compensation and corporate performance in China

Many studies have examined CEO compensation in developed countries, where a long tradition of disclosure renders data readily available. In emerging economies, particularly in China, where market-based compensation is a relatively new phenomenon, there are few studies of CEO compensation. In addition, information on the use of non-cash compensation is almost absent. Building on the general literature on CEO compensation, and Chinese economic and management studies, this article singularly contributes to the extant literature by (1) examining the motivational determinants of CEO perk compensation, on the one hand, and (2) exploring the relative contribution of perks to performance. We anticipate that perks can serve two roles in China: (1) to provide incentives to deter managerial shirking, and (2) to facilitate work and improve production. We find that perks are positively associated with current and future returns on assets, supporting the view that some types of perks may improve firm profitability and/or that perks are paid as a bonus to reward performance. Our findings from stratified samples suggest that perks may incentivize managers, even after controlling for firm fundamentals, such as firm size, growth opportunity, and leverage.     

Group diversity and decision quality: Amplification and attenuation of the framing effect

Do groups make better judgments and decisions than individuals? We tested the hypothesis that the advantage of groups over individuals in decision-making depends on the group composition. Our study used susceptibility to the framing effect as a measure of decision quality. Individuals were assigned to one of two perspectives on a choice problem. The individuals were asked to indicate their individual preference between a risky option and a risk-free option. Next, they were asked to consider the same (or a related) choice problem as a group. Homogeneous groups were composed of similarly framed individuals, while the heterogeneous ones were composed of differently framed individuals. In comparison to individual preferences, the homogeneous groups’ preferences were polarized, and thus the framing effect was amplified; in contrast, the heterogeneous groups’ preferences converged, and thus the framing effect was reduced to zero. The findings are discussed with regard to group polarization, the effects of heterogeneity on group performance, and the Delphi forecasting method.     

Empty voting and the efficiency of corporate governance

We model corporate voting outcomes when an informed trader, such as a hedge fund, can establish separate positions in a firm's shares and votes (empty voting). The positions are separated by borrowing shares on the record date, hedging economic exposure, or trading between record and voting dates. We find that the trader's presence can improve efficiency overall despite the fact that it sometimes ends up selling to a net short position and then voting to decrease firm value. An efficiency improvement is likely if other shareholders’ votes are not highly correlated with the correct decision or if it is relatively expensive to separate votes from shares on the record date. On the other hand, empty voting will tend to decrease efficiency if it is relatively inexpensive to separate votes from shares and other shareholders are likely to vote the right way.     

From hostile boundaries to tourist attractions

This study examines the transformation of hostile borders to inviting tourist attractions. It focuses on three cases: the ‘Island of Peace’ on the Israeli–Jordanian border, the ‘Golden Triangle’ of Southeast Asia and the Berlin Wall. All three are located on boundaries that were sites of conflict and instability, formerly closed and fortified but transformed into open and free borders for tourism. The geopolitical changes that have influenced the development of the sites account for the similarities between them. In all three cases, unique attractions have been developed, offering elements such as special demarcation, observation points and commemorations of the heritage of the closed border or a symbolic representation of cooperation and renewed political relations with the neighbouring country. The tourism development at these attractions may constitute an important contribution in terms of awareness and education that could help in strengthening relations of peace and cooperation in places that in the past suffered from a closed and hostile border. By examining the development of intensive tourism at selected border tourism sites, much can be learned about the development of border attractions elsewhere.     

Early Adoption of IFRS as a Strategic Response to Transnational and Local Influences

In recent years, International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) have been adopted by nations throughout the world. Proponents and standard setters assert that IFRS will produce a number of benefits including improved transparency, international comparability, market efficiency, and cross-national investment flow. In this study, we examine factors that contributed to the early national-level adoption that occurred prior to broad global acceptance of IFRS. Using a conceptual framework of institutional theory and resource dependence, we propose that the interplay of transnational pressures and local factors influenced the level of adoption. We predict differential adoption as a strategic response at three levels of either require IFRS, permit IFRS, or do not allow IFRS, using a sample of 71 countries. As predicted, countries with greater resource dependency, as evidenced by weak governance structures and weak economies, were the early adopters who were more likely to require the use of IFRS. Further, resource dependence also trumps nationalistic pressures against transnational conformity. Our findings raise concerns that required adoption may not always be accompanied by an appropriately supportive infrastructure; thus, there are implications not only for adoption of IFRS, but also for the diffusion of other transnational regulation that influences global business environment.