The Embeddedness of Responsible Business Practice: Exploring the Interaction Between National-Institutional Environments and Corporate Social Responsibility

Academic literature recognizes that firms in different countries deal with corporate social responsibility (CSR) in different ways. Because of this, analysts presume that variations in national-institutional arrangements affect CSR practices. Literature, however, lacks specificity in determining, first, what parts of national political-economic configurations actually affect CSR practices; second, the precise aspects of CSR affected by national-institutional variables; third, how causal mechanisms between national-institutional framework variables and aspects of CSR practices work. Because of this the literature is not able to address to what extent CSR practices are affected by either global or national policies, discourses and economic pressures; and to what extent CSR evolves as either an alternative to or an extension of national-institutional arrangements. This article proposes an alternative approach that focuses on an exploration of links between disaggregated variables, which can then be the basis for imagining new national-institutional configurations affecting aspects of CSR. It illustrates this approach with an exploration of the importance of development aid policy for CSR practices in global supply chains.     

Safety of playgrounds in The Netherlands

Abstract

In this paper the results are presented of a national survey on playground safety in The Netherlands. Thirteen trained inspectors each inspected 51 playgrounds in their own region. In total, 663 playgrounds with 7150 pieces of playground equipment were subjected to an inspection. The following safety criteria were inspected: entanglement, surfacing material, installation and maintenance aspects. The results show that one out of every three pieces of playground equipment fail on one or more criteria. The number of pieces of equipment that fail in playgrounds operated by local authorities or recreational companies is higher than that in playgrounds operated by voluntary associations. The smaller the playground the higher the number of failures per piece of equipment

The time has come for experts to provide the operators with information which will improve the safety level. More funding should be provided for the local authorities to prevent the occurrence of accidents.     

Poverty and unemployment: A cultural approach

For years, policymakers, business leaders, human resources professionals, and economists have attempted to explain the existence of unemployment. Unemployment inhibits the economic growth of a nation and contributes to the problem of ongoing poverty, which cannot be lessened without that growth. Understanding the causes of unemployment and developing policies and programs to decrease it are vitally important for nations around the world, but one key variable in the study of unemployment has been overlooked. That variable is culture. This article will show that culture can significantly explain cross‐national differences in unemployment rates and offers a link to understanding the global problem of poverty that plagues nations today. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Exports and technology in manufacturing industry

Zusammenfassung Exporte und Technologie der Verarbeitenden Industrie. — Die Verfasser nehmen die Behandlung der Technologie in der modernen Au\enhandelstheorie kritisch unter die Lupe. Unter Anwendung einer dynamischen Perspektive liefern sie einige neue empirische Erkenntnisse über die Beziehung zwischen der technologischen Wettbewerbsf?higkeit eines Landes und seiner Exportleistung. Anhand von fünf Industriel?ndern (Deutschland, Japan, Frankreich, Schweden und den Niederlanden) wird gezeigt, da\ es in dieser Hinsicht betr?chtliche Unterschiede zwischen den L?ndern gibt. Diese Unterschiede k?nnen teilweise auf l?nderspezifische Entwicklungspfade und auf Unterschiede in der Industriestruktur zurückgeführt werden, aber nach Ansicht der Autoren k?nnten sie auch durch eine unterschiedliche nationale Technologiepolitik beeinflu\t worden sein.

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Résumé Les exportations et la technologie des industries manufacturières. Cette étude examine le traitement du facteur de technologie dans la théorie moderne du commerce international. En utilisant une perspective dynamique, les auteurs donnent quelque évidence nouvelle pour la relation entre la compétitivité technologique et la performance dans le commerce international. En considérant cinq pays industriels (R.F.A., le Japon, la France, la Suède, et les Pays Bas), il est évident qu’il y a des différences remarquables entre ces pays. On peut attribuer ces différences aux processus du développement spécifiques de ces pays et aux différences entre la structure industrielle de ces pays examinés. Mais d’après les auteurs, ces différences pourraient être influencées aussi par les différences entre la politique de la technologie de ces pays.

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Resurnen Exportaciones y tecnologia en la industria manufacturera. — Este trabajo estudia el trato del factor tecnologia en la teoria moderna del comercio. Utilizando un enfoque dinámico se presenta evidencia empirica nueva de la relation entre la competitividad technológica y la performance del comercio. Considerando los casos de cinco paises industrials (Alemania, Japon, Francia, Suecia y Holanda) se demuestra que existen notables diferencias entre los países en este aspecto. Si bien estas diferencias se pueden atribuir parcialmente a las trayectorias de desarrollo especificas de cada pais y a diferencias en la estructura industrial, se sugiere que también podrian ser influenciadas por las diferencias entre las politicas tecnológicas nacionales.

     

Macro and Micro Perspectives of Growth and Poverty in Africa

This article reviews trends in poverty, economic policies, andgrowth in a sample of African countries during the 1990s, drawingon the better household data now available. Experiences havevaried. Some countries have seen sharp drops in income poverty,whereas others have witnessed marked increases. In some countriesoverall economic growth has been pro-poor and in others not.But the aggregate numbers hide systematic distributional effects.Taking both macro and micro perspectives of growth and povertyin Africa, the article draws four key conclusions. First, economicpolicy reforms (improving macroeconomic balances and liberalizingmarkets) appear conducive to reducing poverty. Second, marketconnectedness is crucial to enable participation in the gainsfrom economic growth. Some regions and households by virtueof their remoteness were left behind when growth picked up.Third, education and access to land emerge as key private endowmentsto help households benefit from new economic opportunities.Finally, rainfall variations and ill health have profound effectson poverty outcomes, underscoring the significance of socialrisk management in poverty reduction strategies in Africa.     

Vertical fiscal imbalances and fiscal performance in advanced economies

The paper examines empirically, using a measure of “vertical fiscal imbalances” (VFI), the relationship between overall fiscal performance and the financing structure of subnational governments. It presents stylized facts regarding the size, evolution, and components of measured VFI using data from 28 OECD countries. On average, the general government fiscal balance is found to improve by 1 percent of GDP for each 10 percentage point reduction in VFI.     

IMF Bank-Restructuring Efficiency Outcomes: Evidence from East Asia

We report new findings on bank efficiency in East Asian countries for the pre- and post-IMF restructuring periods. We find that bank efficiency has improved, but only to the pre-IMF intervention level, and that restructured banks are not more efficient than their unrestructured counterparts. Different restructuring measures have different effects. Bank closures are economically justified, but mergers show short-term efficiency losses. Recapitalization and reprivatization of badly performing banks lead to efficiency improvement, but also increase government ownership. Ease of entry that has allowed for more foreign bank participation results in slightly improved performance of badly performing banks.

BlackBerry in red China: Research in motion navigates institutional barriers in an emerging market. Case comment: RIM in China

Research in Motion's (RIM's) entry into the Chinese market during a time when many distractions —principally a patent dispute with NTP—occupied management's attention was not a foregone conclusion. China remained a difficult market to crack. One holdup was an impasse with regard to RIM's use of encryption technology and the Chinese authorities' desire to monitor e‐mail traffic and content. Here the technical and political concerns were entangled. To further complicate things, the entirety of RIM had until recently been preoccupied with the legal settlement with NTP in the United States. Issues in this study highlight real‐world dilemmas in a thriving firm. The founders are still in charge, and new markets present themselves regularly. A very real challenge is divided attentions. The standstill over market entry calls for integrative thinking—bringing together disparate and contradictory elements for resolution. RIM's way out will invariably involve embracing complex relationships in order to find a resolution to the various conflicting institutional forces. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

From Industrial to Innovation Policy

Industrial policy has been a cornerstone of economic policy in Europe after the world war and the transformation of basic industries like coal and steel were key issues at the beginning of European integration. In the 1970s and 1990s industrial policy shifted toward support of high-tech industries. In the seventies the importance of a more systemic view came up, policy had to address the specific weaknesses of the innovation system. The Lisbon agenda finally combines competitiveness with social and environmental goals. Industry plays an important role in generating welfare and industrial policy is in different forms and sorts back, high on the agenda.     

Linking HRM and Small Business Performance: An Examination of the Impact of HRM Intensity on the Productivity and Financial Performance of Small Businesses

Attempts to explore empirically the link between HRM and firm performance are numerous. Yet, research on this link remains restricted to large companies. Little is known about the extent to which the existing results extend to small businesses. The purpose of the present study is to develop and test a conceptual framework linking HRM to financial performance that fits small businesses. The central question is whether the development of an intensive HRM is profitable for smaller organizations. For the development and optimization of the conceptual framework, we rely on human capital theory and bankruptcy prediction models. Using structural equation modeling, we study the mediating effect of voluntary turnover and productivity on the relationship between HRM intensity and one year lagged financial performance. The results show both productivity and profitability enhancing effects as well as a cost increasing impact of HRM intensity.