Macroeconomic Adjustment and External Dependency in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines the behavioral parameters of the IS equations for eight countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. The empirical results show an overall destabilizing effect rooted in the parameters of the IS functions. The study lends support to the view that recourse to external financing, to balance the I-S gap in the short-run, leads LDCs economies into a state of structural dependency on foreign capital, entailing a reduction in domestic capital formation and growth through an increased reliance on imports and an inefficient allocation of domestic savings. [112, 121]     

Segmentation in the informal credit markets: the case of the Philippines

This paper explains market segmentation that occurs in the Philippine informal credit markets through the matching of borrowers and lenders by their occupational specializations to internalize transaction costs and facilitate economic activity. The regression results support a predictable pattern of matching farmer lenders with borrowers specialized in non-farm activities and trader lenders with borrowers specialized in farming.     

Evolutionary diffusion: internal and external methods used to acquire encompassing,complementary, and incremental technological changes in the lithotripsy industry

This study links theories concerning methods that firms use to acquire technology with theories concerning types of technological change. We place particular emphasis on interorganizational relationships. We predict that firms will often acquire know-how needed for encompassing technological change through equity-based arrangements with other organizations, complementary technological changes through nonequity interorganizational arrangements, and incremental changes through internal R&D. Our theory draws on perspectives that emphasize the need to develop new competencies within a business organization and to protect the value of existing competencies. Our empirical analysis examines methods of technology acquisition that firms have used in the commercialization of medical lithotripters, which are devices that fragment stones in the kidney and gall bladder. The analysis contributes to a better understanding of how technology acquisition methods vary with the manner in which technological change relates to a firm's existing capabilities. The study also helps develop our understanding of the evolutionary processes by which capabilities diffuse through an industry. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intra‐firm transfer of best practices in moral reasoning: a conceptual framework

In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework of the intra‐firm transfer of best practices in moral reasoning by integrating three streams of literature: internal knowledge transfer in strategic management, moral reasoning and epistemology in philosophy and business ethics, and leader–member exchange in human resource management. We propose that characteristics of moral reasoning (nature of moral knowledge, tacitness of moral reasoning and causal ambiguity), source characteristics (moral development of leaders), target characteristics (integrity capacity and moral development of subordinates), leader–member exchange and internal ethical climate influence the transfer of best practices in moral reasoning.     

The time profile of public expenditure growth in India: An emprical investigation

Empirical tests confirm that the major social upheavals produced interfunctional and intrafunctional ‘displacements’ in government spending and thereby changed the character of public expenditure in India. There was a strong resurgence in the growth of public expenditure on social and development services; the State governments gained a greater role in this area in the post-disturbance period. Perhaps this could be inferred as a disturbance-generated ‘decentralization process’ giving a greater scope for the State governments in dealing with social and development services.     

Leader–member exchange,subordinate stewardship,and hierarchical governance

In this article, by integrating the institutional theory, leader–member exchange (LMX) theory, and stewardship theory, we propose a model of subordinate stewardship behaviors in organizational hierarchies and the resultant hierarchical governance structures. First, we develop propositions suggesting that the quality of LMX (supervisor–subordinate) is determined by three antecedents: leader characteristics, subordinate characteristics, and internal organizational context. The quality of LMX, in turn, affects the subordinate stewardship behaviors. Second, by integrating institutional theory and stewardship theory, we propose that the interaction between isomorphic pressures and the level of subordinate stewardship behaviors may result in four distinct types of hierarchical governance structures: isomorphic stewardship, isomorphic controls, firm-specific controls, and firm-specific stewardship. These governance mechanisms reflect the internal drive toward subordinate stewardship, while complying with the external norms of isomorphism. Thus, different types of governance structures may exist between and within firms. Implications of this model are discussed here.     

The transformation of the Indian agricultural input industry: has it increased agricultural R&D?

Indian agricultural input industries have gone through a major transformation in the last 40 years. State owned firms grew during the Green Revolution and then stagnated or declined. Indian corporations that were protected from foreign competition are now exporters of agricultural tractors and pesticides. Foreign multinational corporations are rapidly increasing their role in the seed, pesticide, and tractor industries. Entry by large Indian firms and multinationals has increased competition in the input industries. Private agribusiness R&D in India grew from $23 million in 1985 to $250 million in 2009 in 2005 US dollars. This is the same time period as a transformation in the agricultural input industry, rapid growth in demand for agricultural inputs, breakthroughs in information technology and biotechnology, and changes in intellectual property rights. An econometric model was used to test whether the transformation of agricultural input industry was a major factor in the growth of R&D expenditure or not. This article analyzes a unique, firm level sales and R&D data set from the seed, pesticide, tractor, and fertilizer industries in 2000–2009. The estimated model indicates that agribusiness firms' R&D expenditures from 2000 to 2009 were positively related to variables associated with industry transformation such as firm size, ownership by multinationals, and declining industry concentration. The model also indicates that strengthening patent policy as well as growth in the size of research‐intensive industries like the seed industry contributed to the growth of agribusiness R&D in India.     

The certification role of insider participation in PIPEs

Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting - In this paper we provide new insights into the motives underlying insider participation in private investments in public equity (PIPEs) by...     

The Impact of Ageing and the Speed of Ageing on the Economic Growth of Least Developed,Emerging and Developed Countries, 1990–2013

Studies relating ageing and countries’ economic performance address mostly developed economies. However, extant studies demonstrate that less developed countries (LDC) and emerging economies (EE) are reaching the transition process faster than those from developed regions, which renders the speed of ageing, besides ageing, a critical variable to explore in this context. Comparing system dynamic panel data estimations for 40 LDC, 19 EE and 28 developed countries (DC), between 1990 and 2013, we uncovered that ageing is detrimental to countries’ economic growth, with noticeable nuances depending on countries’ development level. The current level of ageing significantly and negatively impacts on DC's growth but not on that of LDC or EE. For these latter groups, the most relevant issue is the speed of ageing. The current annual growth of old age dependency ratio significantly diminishes EE's growth prospects whereas the lagged annual growth of the ageing index and the old age dependency ratio significantly curtails LDC's growth. Such results emphasize the need for urgent public policies that might mitigate the imbalance in LDCs’ age structure before the speed of ageing leads LDCs to become even much poorer.     

Form versus substance: The effect of ownership structure and corporate governance on firm value in Thailand

We examine the relation between the quality of corporate governance practices and firm value for Thai firms, which often have complex ownership structures. We develop a comprehensive measure of corporate governance and show that, in contrast to conventional measures of corporate governance, our measurement, on average, is positively associated with Tobin’s q. Furthermore, we find that q values are lower for firms that exhibit deviations between cash flow rights and voting rights. We also find that the value benefits of complying with “good” corporate governance practices are nullified in the presence of pyramidal ownership structures, raising doubts on the effectiveness of governance measures when ownership structures are not transparent. We conclude that family control of firms through pyramidal ownership structures can allow firms to seemingly comply with preferred governance practices but also use the control to their advantage.