Effects of the Regional Trading Arrangements on Trade: Evidence from the NAFTA,ANZCER and ASEAN Countries, 1989 – 2000

Using the modified gravity model, this study examines whether the free trade areas of NAFTA, ANZCER and ASEAN would result in trade creation among the member countries and trade diversion with the non-member countries. Further, it applies Linder's income similarity concept to explain the trade patterns in the developed and developing countries within these free trade areas. First, the results suggest that the implementations of the free trade areas have facilitated higher trade among the member countries, particularly the ANZCER and ASEAN countries. However, among all three free trade areas, the formation of the ANZCER free trade area has resulted in trade diversion with non-member countries, whereas that of the ASEAN free trade area has resulted in a trade increase with non-member countries. Surprisingly, the formation of the NAFTA free trade area has no significant effect on trade with non-member countries as their trade flows remain quite low even before its implementation. Second, the result indicates that the trade-enhancing effect of income similarity is confirmed for the developing rather than developed member countries. The developing member countries with similar incomes would trade extensively more with each other. This result can be partly explained by Hanink's income threshold concept, which argues that the income similarity effect is only applicable to developed countries with very small difference in incomes. Given the heterogeneous country sample in this study, the substantial income differences among the developed member countries would probably account for the lack of income similarity effect in these countries.     

The Investment Development Path: Evidence from Poland and Other Countries of the Visegrád Group

This article discusses Polish foreign direct investment against that of the other Central and Eastern European countries belonging to the so-called Visegrád Group. The article is a continuation of this author’s previous work, now revised and taking into account a longer perspective of the analysis, theoretical recommendations modifying and widening the scope of the Investment Development Path model, the results of analytical studies published by other authors as well as the results of two research projects conducted by a Nicolaus Copernicus University team between 2006–2009 and 2010–2013. This article’s fundamental aim is to define the current stage of Poland’s economic development according to the Investment Development Path trajectory. The author concludes that Poland is in its third stage of development according to the Investment Development Path model, although still in an early phase of that stage.     

Innovation and imitation in a model of North–South trade

This paper analyzes the growth and welfare effects of trade openness within a North–South framework that predicts the observed intra-industry trade and the North–South specialization over different quality vintages within product lines. The model is used to re-examine the relationship between the innovation in the North and the imitation lag of the South and to address the implications of the (weak) international Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection. When the imitation technology is modeled as a function of increasing complexity of targeted products, opening to trade increases the growth rate and welfare of both regions, but results in a larger North–South quality gap. While a full catch-up is possible with no protection of ideas flow, but also with no trade, the quality gap is always positive under full economic integration including trade in goods. Stronger IPR protection increases the gap and has a negative effect on the world growth rate and welfare.     

Industry Heterogeneity of Technology Innovation of Export Firm in China： Empirical Evidence from Listed Firms

技术创新是出口企业提高国际竞争力的重要战略,而技术创新的关键在于对其特性和形成原因的科学把握。本文利用高技术制造业、非高技术制造业、采掘业和建筑业出口上市企业数据,在出口企业技术创新理论分析的基础上,运用多元统计和面板数据模型,研究了中国出口企业技术创新差异性。研究发现,中国出口企业技术创新具有明显的行业差异性;研发资本投入、研发人力投入、企业冗余资源、技术装备程度、国有股权比例、股权集中度和企业出口额对出口企业技术创新产出的作用也具有行业差异性。本文的研究结果可为中国出口企业针对本行业特性科学地做出技术创新决策提供参考。     

Are Current Account Deficits in the OECD Countries Sustainable? Robust Evidence from Time-Series Estimators

This study examines the sustainability of current account deficits (CADs) and validity of intertemporal budget constraint (IBC) for 24 OECD countries. While the OLSEG, ML system, and OLSGH estimates of the model do not provide support, the GMM, DOLS, and NLLS estimates provide consistent support for the sustainability of CADs across most countries. The estimates of the model with multiple structural breaks reinforce the sustainability of CADs. The results provide dominant support for the sustainability of CADs and validity of IBC across most countries. The CADs are only short-run phenomena and are balanced by future surpluses.     

Option trading and the cross-listed stock returns: Evidence from Chinese A–H shares

We empirically investigate the effects of option trading on the cross-listed stock returns. Using dual-listed stocks in mainland China (A) and Hong Kong (H) stock exchanges, we show that option order imbalance (OI) positively and significantly predicts daily stock returns for both markets, controlling for risk factors and firm characteristics. Informed trading rather than price pressure better explain the predictability. High OI stocks have higher trading volume and present lottery-like properties. Three important events significantly affect the predictive power of OI, consistent with the improved market quality and the episode of speculative trading. Robustness checks support the main findings.     

Opportunism in Buyer–Supplier Relations: New Insights from Quantitative Synthesis

After more than two decades of empirical research examining opportunism, a wide divergence of empirical findings regarding opportunism's antecedents remains. The need for more theoretically practicable and managerially actionable insight into the identity, nature, and scope of the antecedents to opportunism is clear. As such, a meta-analysis of the opportunism literature was conducted to (a) investigate the role of six antecedents (dependence, formalization, centralization, control, uncertainty, and relational norms), (b) resolve the disparate relationships' magnitudes and directions, and (c) identify moderators that might explain the disparate effect sizes. Findings suggest extant research findings are affected by socially desirable response bias; the particular operationalization of constructs, for example, whether measured opportunism is actual or perceived or whether the study omitted key antecedents; and whether the sample included firms offering products or services. Theoretical and managerial implications are developed and discussed.     

Effects of Outsider’s Monitoring on Capital Structure and Corporate Growth Strategy: Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Debt-ridden corporate growth and increased vulnerability was one of the causes of the 1997 financial crisis in Korea. Introduction of the outside director system has been the core part of the board reforms following the crisis. Our estimation using instruments obtained from a natural experiment illustrates that outside monitoring has (i) improved capital structure of firms even when we control for the leverage regulation effect, (ii) enhanced compliance with leverage regulation and thus reduced business risks, and (iii) reduced excessive growth and excessive investment more consistently for the top 10 largest chaebols than non-chaebol firms and smaller sized chaebol affiliates. Our results shed some light on why existing studies report the positive effect of outsiders on firm value and add value to existing agency theory by illustrating that the effect of improved governance on capital structure could be non-linear.     

Does the Quality of Investment Protection Affect FDI Flows to Developing Countries? Evidence from Latin America

Studies on the impact of international investment agreements (IIAs), including bilateral investment treaties (BITs), on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows have been inconclusive. This paper contributes to the debate about the effectiveness of IIAs using an original database that differentiates between investment agreements according to the quality of investor protection, and which covers a wide variety of trade and investment agreements signed and ratified in the Americas. We find evidence that in the least likely case of south–south FDI flows, high‐quality international investment treaties have a demonstrable effect on foreign direct investment inflows. Moreover, international investment agreements appear to be most effective in a context of deeper economic integration. That is, they work better when they provide higher quality protection to investors and when they are combined with other preferential economic integration agreements, such as trade agreements.     

Do Entrepreneurial Social Networks Boost Enterprise Growth? Evidence from the Pearl River Delta in China

Against the backdrop of China’s traditional culture and economic transition, the effect of entrepreneurs’ social networks on enterprise growth has become an important topic attracting attention from both academics and practitioners. This paper decomposes entrepreneurs’ social networks into three dimensions: the external horizontal social network representing inter-firm relationship, external vertical social network in the form of interactions between enterprises and the government, and internal vertical social network referring to entrepreneurs’ control over enterprise operation. Results based on data from the Pearl River Delta reveal that all of the three dimensions of social network exert a positive impact on enterprise growth. The external horizontal social network plays the most influencing role, while the effects of the other two kinds of networks cannot be neglected either.     

The Development of an Organisational Innovation: Management Buy-Outs in the UK, 1980–97

This paper analyses the development of management buy-outs and similar transactions as an organisational innovation in the UK. Their development is situated in the context of the historical development of organisations which has previously emphasised shifts from family capitalism sto managerial capitalism and in the context of deregulation and its implications. The paper identifies five periods of development, pre-1980, 1980–84, 1985–89, 1990–94 and 1995 onwards, and shows how the prevalent forms of buy-out have changed and adapted across these periods. The paper analyses the economic impact of buy-out type organisations in terms of financial and ecomomic performance, impact on employment, and the longevity of buy-outs as on ownership form. Two particular continuing problem areas are identified: pricing of transactions and the role of debt.     

The Internationalization of the Small Firm in Developing Countries—Exploratory Research from Pakistan

Abstract

Based on case studies of six small exporting Pakistani enterprises, this preliminary study considers the relevance of models of internationalization to small scale enterprises from developing economies. The results show little support for most existing models, although the importance of contacts and connections in all aspects of internationalization is supportive of network theory. The stability of exporting relationships involving agents/wholesalers/importers is linked to the production orientation of the enterprises. Policy implications concern the need for greater marketing awareness and training in small firms; and for improved links with overseas distributors and with ethnic Pakistani communities abroad.     

The Unification of the Colombian Stock Market: A Step Towards Efficiency–Empirical Evidence

ABSTRACT

The empirical evidence presented in this study shows that there has certainly been a structural change in the Colombian stock market since the merger of the three regional Exchanges (Bolsas) into the Colombian Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Colombia). This change has been reflected in a greater level of efficiency in that market. Regarding individual assets, the findings coincide with Samuelson (1998) in the sense that the stock market is micro-efficient but macro-inefficient, which means that the efficient market hypothesis performs better for individual stocks than for the aggregated price indexes of the market.

RESUMEN. La evidencia empírica presentada en este estudio muestra que realmente operó un cambio estructural en el mercado accionario colombiano a partir de la fusión de las tres Bolsas regionales en la Bolsa de Valores de Colombia. Este cambio se ha reflejado en un mayor nivel de eficiencia de este mercado. En cuanto a los activos individuales, los hallazgos coinciden con Samuelson (1998) en el sentido de que el mercado bursátil es micro-eficiente pero macro-ineficiente, es decir, que la hipótesis de la eficiencia del mercado se cumple mejor para acciones individuales que para los índices de precios agregados del mercado.

RESUMO. A evidência empírica apresentada neste estudo mostra que, sem dúvida, tem ocorrido uma mudança estrutural no mercado de ações colombiano, a partir da fusão das três Bolsas de Valores regionais, dando origem à Bolsa de Valores de Colombia. Esta mudança refletiu o alto nível de eficiência deste mercado. Quanto aos ativos individuais, percebe-se a coincidência com Samuelson (1998), no sentido de que o mercado de ações é micro-eficiente, mas também é macro-ineficiente, ou seja, que a hipótese de um mercado eficiente atua melhor para as ações individuais do que para os índices de preços agregados do mercado.     

A risk-based explanation of return patterns—Evidence from the Polish stock market

Using both sorting and cross-sectional tests, this paper investigates the patterns in the average stock returns related to stock fundamentals, past return performance, idiosyncratic risk, and turnover in the Polish equity market for the period 2002–2011. To examine the persistence of the patterns, we apply the Monotonic Relation test of Patton and Timmermann (2010). The results favour the book-to-market ratio as a determinant of the cross-sectional variation of stock returns while momentum remains insignificant. The Fama and French (1993) three-factor model, which uses local size and value risk premiums adjusted for the skewed size distribution of the sample, captures most of the recognised anomalies. Further, we show that Polish domestic SMB and HML factors are not correlated with their U.S. and German counterparts.     

A Close Connection between the Disciplines of Industrial Organization and Finance: A Worthy Objective or a Bridge Too Far?

Periodically, the question of whether there ought to be a substantially closer connection between the disciplines of industrial organization (IO) and finance has been a topic of conversation within the IO discipline. After documenting three such initiatives that ultimately failed to have lasting effects, this article argues that a goal of a close interweaving of IO and finance is a chimera – but that more modest interactions have been and continue to be possible.     

Determinants of Successful IT-Enabled Business Innovation： A Case Study from the Perspective of Institutional Entrepreneurship Theory

As the role of information technology （IT） in business innovation becomes increasingly important, an increasing number of organizations have started to consider how to promote IT-enabled business innovation. Although extant studies have identified organization, environment, and innovation＇s characteristics as substantial determinants of IT innovation, they do not emphasize the accompanying innovation in processes, products or services, which distinguish IT-enabled business innovation from general IT innovation. Therefore, the reason why few companies succeed in realizing IT-enabled business innovation remains obscure. Anchored on the institutional entrepreneurship theory, this paper examines determinants of the success of IT-enabled business innovation in a fast-growing company using the case study approach. Our findings indicate that IT-business coordination competency, degree of institutionalization, participation of business managers, top management team＇s （TMT） attitude towards the innovation, and the innovation＇s relative strength, have significant impacts on the success of IT-enabled business innovation. Our findings also contribute to IT innovation research by identifying special determinants of IT-enabled business innovation and redirecting research ranging from innovation in IT itself to IT-enabled innovation in business processes, products or services.     

The Nature and Structure of Trade–Financial Networks: Evidence from the New Zealand Pastoral Sector

Recent work on business organisation has shown how a network based upon trade can evolve into a more widely embracing trade and financial network. A growing network may also engender leaders who intermediate to reduce communication costs. This paper provides an historically based variation on such hypothesised network structures by showing that trade and finance can exist together as part of a network from the outset. New Zealand pastoral agent firms recognised from very early on that regular trading transactions between agent and farmer generated trust, reputational effects, and mutual information exchange vital for successful lending and the provision of pastoral services. Agents, and sometimes other functional groups, served as intermediating leaders as the network grew in size and complexity.     

Perceptions of Accountants’ Ethics: Evidence from Their Portrayal in Cinema

This article examines popular representations of accountants’ ethics by studying their depiction in cinema. As a medium that both reflects and shapes public opinion, films provide a useful resource for exploring the portrayal of the profession’s ethics. We employ a values theoretical framework to analyze 110 movie accountants on their basic ethical character, ethical behavior, and values. We use factor analysis to reduce 22 personal characteristics to five factors encompassing two terminal and three instrumental value sets, which we relate to ethical behavior. Findings indicate that in popular cinema, the ethical behavior of accountants is positively associated with intrinsic terminal values, but negatively related to competency (instrumental) values.     

Personnel from Chambers of Commerce of Latin-American ＆ Caribbean Countries Trained in China for the First Time

On December 4, the First Training Seminar for Personnel from Chambers of Commerce of Latin-American ＆ Caribbean Countries, held by the Ministry ofCommerce and CCPIT（China Council for the Promotion of International Trade）.