Interlocking Corporate Directorships as a Social Network

A bstract . Outside directors are now a majority on the boards of the' Fortune 500' corporations creating a network of interconnections through interlocking directorates. Details of this phenomenon and explanations for its significance can be found in an earlier article in this Journal *. This network can be visualized as a system through which common norms, values , and a sense of "weness" can flow. This sense of being part of a corporate establishment would have significant effects on corporate conduct. From what top corporate leaders say and do, the validity and implications of this hypothesis are examined. This class hegemony theory views power as shared within a system of social relationships, in contrast to the management control theory which considers management as in total control.     

Interlocking directorates in Italy: persistent links in network dynamics

In this work we study the time evolution of interlocking directorates in Italy from 1998 to 2011 by means of dynamical networks. Our purpose is to assess if in Italy there is a connected and stable structure, due to the presence of directors with multiple mandates, like it happens in the German case. We find a very cohesive network structure, due to the presence of a few directors with multiple assignments and, unlike the German case, this structure is stable, but not connected. Moreover we propose an alternative approach to investigate the dynamics, based on temporal networks, in order to quantify the variation of links in a certain time period. We construct a unique cumulative network, where nodes are companies and the existence of an edge is related with the persistence in time of an interlock between two companies. This persistence is due on the one hand to the ownership of a few family firms, and on the other hand to cross-shareholdings between companies. To complete the analysis we also investigate whether the link stability results from the appointments of the same director or from the stepping in/out of different directors.     

Japanese Corporate Groupings (Keiretsu) and the Informativeness of Earnings

This paper examines the effect of Japanese corporate groupings, keiretsu , on the informativeness of earnings. Keiretsu firms maintain close financial and personal ties through cross-shareholding, credit holding, interlocking corporate directorates, and various business transactions. We propose that the strong interrelations of the keiretsu ownership structure enhance the informativeness of earnings through efficient monitoring of managerial performance. Our empirical results show that keiretsu firms have higher earnings response coefficients than those of non- keiretsu firms, the earnings response coefficient increases as the strength of the keiretsu relationship increases, and discretionary accruals by keiretsu firms are smaller than discretionary accruals of non- keiretsu firms. All of these results suggest that the monitoring ability of the keiretsu improves the informativeness of earnings.     

Boards of directors in SMEs: a review and research agenda

This paper aims at reviewing research and presenting a research agenda on boards of directors in SMEs. While most publications about boards in SMEs focus on the lack of research in the area, this paper presents some of the work that has been conducted. Publications on boards of directors during the 1990s in outlets for SME research are reviewed. Boards of directors in small and medium-sized companies are getting increased attention, but the knowledge about boards in such companies is still fragmented. This paper presents research challenges based on a holistic model of directorates in SMEs that is elaborated from previous research about directorates. The papers selected for this special issue on boards of directors in SMEs are presented in this framework.     

中外商业银行公司治理结构比较与借鉴

一般将现代商业银行治理结构分为两种主要类型:英美公司治理模式和德法公司治理模式。本文将就英美模式和德法模式进行分析研究,寻找不同的公司治理的发展轨迹,为国有商业银行治理结构构造提供借鉴。     

The impact of matching mission preferences on well-being at work

A recent literature in economics assumes that workers differ in their mission preferences. These studies predict a premium on the matching of mission preferences between a worker and employer. This paper uses data from the Dutch LISS panel to examine this prediction for government workers. Results show that government workers report higher satisfaction with the type of work they do when their political preferences match those of the political parties in office as compared to when their political preferences do not match. A match of political preferences has no effect on the work type satisfaction of workers employed outside the government sector.     

Business and the genesis of the European Community carbon tax proposal

The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of business in the regulatory process associated with the carbon tax proposal. The first part of the paper describes the Community's climate change policy, noting first the essential features of Community environment policy-making, the role of consultation with industry and the significance of the ‘subsidiarity’ principle. This part of the paper moves on to examine the carbon tax proposal and its evolution since 1990. The second part of the paper addresses the specific role which business played in influencing the development of the carbon tax proposal. The general strategy of business was to block the proposal entirely. The paper identifies the potential impacts of the tax on business, implications for corporate strategies and the specific channels through which business influenced the tax proposal, by participating in public debates, through representations to different directorates of the European Commission or by making a case to national authorities. The final part of the paper attempts to draw some lessons about: the business position in relation to large scale environmental problems such as climate change; business responses to economic instruments such as the carbon/energy tax; and the wider relationship between public authorities and business in regulatory processes. The question of whether this relationship has entered a new phase or whether there is still ‘business as usual’ is addressed.     

Board composition in small enterprises

This paper reports the results of three empirical studies of boards of directors in small enterprises in Norway. Most studies of boards of directors are concerned with the situation in large corporations. This article provides insights into board attributes and board functions in small firms. The Studies reported found that board composition is an important factor in describing and analyzing directorates. They also found that the composition of the board of directors is a function of company size and ownership structure, and that board composition varies with industry. The studies found differences in the board's strategy involvement between industries.     

Productive behavior through the life course: An essay on the quality of life

Present patterns of productive activity are neither well recognized, optimal for society, nor in accordance with individual prefence. Although a great deal of attention has been given to meeting people's needs for income, medical care, and other services, the quality of their lives must also be defined by what they do for themselves and for others. In discovering present patterns of productive activity throughout the life course and optimizing those patterns, we will raise the quality of American life. To accomplish this task, two great changes are needed: we must recognize the full range of productive activities throughout the life course and give people the opportunity to modify the allocation of paid employment.     

Classification schemes and the study of social mobility: A detailed examination of the Blau-Duncan categories

The Blau-Duncan system of seventeen occuptational categories has frequently been used as the basis for the study of social mobility patterns in the contemporary United States. In this paper, we examine the validity of these categories by subdividing them in various ways and examining the mobility flows in this more detailed classification. Initial log-linear and cluster analyses using data from the Occupational Changes in a Generation II (OCG-II) survey suggest that the Blau-Duncan scheme hides certain patterns of social structuration, and we form new classification systems on the basis of these results. However, cross-validation analyses using the cumulative General Social Survey data set show that the improvements associated with our schemes do not generalize beyond the OCG-II data. Thus, we recommend continued use of the Blau-Duncan categories, given that they have been employed so often in previous work.     

The impact of alternative transportation systems on urban structure

This paper extends a recent von Thünen-type model of urban structure by Mills to include two competing forms of transportation, and then compares simulated representative American and European cities with respect to size, density, and land rents. Assuming consumers minimize costs in choosing between competing travel modes, the 19-equation model demonstrates that land rent differentials are diminished by adding an alternative travel mode, and that transport capacity is far more important than fare structures in determining transit patterns and land use. American urban structure appears to resemble European urban patterns as transportation modes proliferate.     

Who benefits from job placement services? A two-sided analysis

In light of additional information market agents would achieve better outcomes, for example, a lower ask price for the buyer and a higher offer price for the seller. I examine this notion in a labor market, where employers and employees do not possess perfect information about wages, and address the question of who benefits from the information provided by job placement services? The empirical strategy considers the two-sided nature of the labor market. Estimates of employee and employer incomplete information are contrasted between users and non-users of placement services provided by Job Corps, America’s largest and most important job training program for youths. Findings suggest that employees that use placement services don’t have more information about better offer wages, relative to non-users. Interestingly, firms that employed users of placement services are better informed about reservation wages relative to firms that employed non-users.     

An examination of the relative economic efficiency of commercial vs. cooperative telephone companies

In this study, the authors examine the relative economic efficiency of the commercial and cooperative telephone companies in the United States. A national sample of over 900 firms using annual data for the years 1973 through 1980 is analyzed. A Cobb-Douglas profit function is employed in the study. The results indicate that commercial firms are more profitable than cooperatives (and, therefore, are more economically efficient), that both types of firms are price takers in the output market, that there is evidence of regulatory effectiveness, that market density affects profits, and that commercial firms experience increasing returns to scale while cooperatives do not.     

美国摩天大楼发展史与中国城市摩天大楼发展思路

本文通过美国摩天大楼一个世纪以来的发展过程,分析其产生的社会经济和历史文化背景,揭示摩天大楼的空间区位对城市CBD的牵引、阻滞和位移作用。特别是九十年代以来信息高速公路的建设,将对摩天大楼的发展趋势产生深远影响。上述研究,对我国刚刚兴起的摩天大楼建设热有所借鉴。     

中美文化模式对礼貌策略的影响——由一则跨文化交际失误的例子说起

礼貌在跨文化交际中起着举足轻重的作用,但其也具有文化差异性。本文通过对一则跨文化交际失误的例子的分析,试图分析中美两种不同的文化模式在几个方面对礼貌起到的影响。     

The dimensions of leadership style

Few people ever appraise their personal qualities and behavior patterns. Nor do they stop to examine the challenges and requirements of the broad array of managerial possibilities open to them. This means that managers seldom match their ambitions and abilities. The discipline this paper offers toward recognizing your leadership profile is the important first step to intelligent career-planning.     

Gender,family ties,and international mobility: Cultural distance matters

This study empirically tests a model of associations between family-domain variables and willingness to accept an international assignment, and applies the general model to sub-samples of men and women to examine gender differences in the pattern of relationships. We further explore these patterns in culturally similar and culturally distant country destinations. Analyses conducted with a sample of 148 men and 79 women employed MBA graduates from dual-earner couples revealed that perceived spouse willingness to relocate, beliefs regarding spouse and couple mobility, relative income, and the presence of children are associated with willingness to accept an international assignment. Moreover, consistent with social role theory, significant gender differences in willingness were found across low and high cultural distance country destinations.     

The effects of vehicle ownership on employment

Vehicle ownership may promote work if employment opportunities and job searches are enhanced by reliable transportation. For example, vehicles may serve to reduce potential physical isolation from employment opportunities. I examine the effects of vehicle ownership and vehicle quality on employment for single mothers with no more than a high school education using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data. I control for potential bias by jointly estimating employment and vehicle ownership in a maximum likelihood framework using state welfare eligibility asset rules as instruments. Results show that vehicle ownership increases employment. Positive effects of vehicles do not differ for urban and rural residents, but they do change with economic conditions. Further, welfare recipients are significantly more likely to exit the program and become employed if they own a vehicle.     

Is God in the details? A reexamination of the role of religion in economic growth

Barro and McCleary (2003, Religion and economic growth across countries. American Journal of Sociology 68 : 760–781) is a key research contribution in the new literature exploring the macroeconomic effects of religious beliefs. This paper represents an effort to evaluate the strength of their claims. We evaluate their results in terms of replicability and robustness. Overall, their analysis generally meets the standard of statistical replicability, though not perfectly. On the other hand, we do not find that their results are robust to changes in their baseline statistical specification. When model‐averaging methods are employed to integrate information across alternative statistical specifications, little evidence survives that religious variables help to predict cross‐country income differences. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.