Do Dominant Firms Provide More Training?

A canonical Cournot competition model shows that the profitability of training can increase as the number of competitors decreases. British establishment evidence from 1998, 2004, and 2011 confirms that firms in less competitive markets provide more formal training. This persists within three separate cross‐sections and in two separate panel estimates. It persists with alternative measures of training, with alternative measures of market competition and in estimates designed to account for endogeneity. These results suggest that a dominant product market position, indeed, increases the incentives to invest in training.     

Do Ukrainian Firms Benefit from FDI?

All countries are eager to attract as much foreign direct investments (FDI) as possible. At the same time FDI may have not only positive, but also negative economic effects for receiving countries. Positive effects are associated with technology transfer, efficient allocation of resources, and training of domestic workers. However, the entry of foreign firms could, e.g., lead to a decrease of labor productivity at domestic firms, which is a negative effect. The main purpose of this paper is to estimate direct and indirect effects of FDI. First, we test for direct influence of foreign direct investments on firms performance, where the latter is estimated alternatively as labor productivity and as exports. FDI notably increases both labor productivity and export volumes. Second, we look for spillover or indirect effects. There is statistical evidence that the levels of FDI in certain regional industries are associated with higher performance indicators of firms not receiving FDI in those same regional industries.JEL Classification: L1, L6, F2     

Do Family Firms Have Better Reputations Than Non‐Family Firms? An Integration of Socioemotional Wealth and Social Identity Theories

We draw from socioemotional wealth and social identity research to develop a theory on reputational differences among family and non‐family firms. We propose that family members identify more strongly with their family firm than non‐family members do with either a family or non‐family firm. Heightened identification motivates family members to pursue a favourable reputation because it allows them to feel good about themselves, thus contributing to their socioemotional wealth. We hypothesize that when the family's name is part of the firm's name, the firm's reputation is higher because family members are particularly motivated for their firm to have a better reputation. Family members also need organizational power to pursue a favourable reputation; thus, we hypothesize that the level of family ownership and family board presence should be associated with more favourable reputations. We find support for our theory in a sample of large firms from eight countries with disparate governance systems and cultures.     

Accounting Objectives and Reporting System Construction of Managerial Accounting in China北大核心

The purpose of this paper is to propose an innovation system of managerial accounting reports, which is actually on the basis of accounting objectives. On the one hand, as managerial accounting is one important branch of accounting(the other important branch is financial accounting), some of its characters should be closely connected with accounting. On the other hand, managers need managerial accounting information for enterprise operation(especially for internal management control) decisions, so, managerial accounting should also be in accordance with the enterprise's operation and its management control. Therefore, combined with the existed research of accounting(especially financial accounting research) and for the development requirement of Chinese enterprises, this paper will mainly discuss the relation between accounting objectives and managerial accounting's system and put forward an idea of constructing an applicable reporting system of managerial accounting based on the operation mode in Chinese modern enterprises. This study will develop the accounting reports research(including external reports and internal reports) both in the field of theory and that of practice.     

Why are some family firms not innovative?: Innovation Barriers and Path Dependence in Family Firms

Although scholars have recognized the importance of innovation in family firms, the literature on family firm innovation tends to generally depict family firms as either ‘good’ or ‘bad’ for innovation, or focus on the factors with the potential to positively stimulate family firm innovation. Drawing on path dependence theory, this study focuses specifically on what family-specific barriers work against innovation in family firms. To that end, we follow a qualitative theory-building approach due to the limited amount of extant theory, and study a sample of four family businesses headquartered in Spain and Uruguay. The related propositions and theoretical contributions emerging from our study are shared in the concluding section.     

Do Small Family Firms Outperform Non-family Firms？ A Research Agenda Based on Agency and Stewardship Theories＊

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of family involvement and altruism on agency costs of equity and debt, as well on the performance of small family businesses. To achieve this objective, the authors reviewed the literature on family business. Drawing from agency theory and stewardship theory, the authors also proposed a research model that highlights the links among the variables. In so doing, this paper makes some contributions to the literature in three ways. Firstly, it takes an integrative framework that may help to explain behaviors oriented towards maximizing potential performance within a context in which pro-organizational attitudes co-exist with self-serving motivations. Secondly, it advances the understanding of corporate governance mechanisms in small family businesses, and finally, it deepens the discussion of prior research by advancing a set of propositions based on two theoretical approaches. Thus, the authors believe that a systematic comparison of different contexts provides new insights into small family business governance. The implications and directions for future research are in the last section.     

Applications of Business Process Management （BPM） in Chinese Firms： A Managerial Accounting Perspective

Based on a questionnaire survey, the aim of this paper is to explore the relationship of business process management （BPM） with managerial accounting system （MAS） and their economic performance consequences in Chinese firms. Statistical data show that more firms accept business process improvement （BPI） other than business process reengineering （BPR） and optimize their activity chains other than supply chains. Through the construction of three elements, i.e., goal-setting, monitoring, and incentive schemes, of MAS, the study finds that when implementing BPM, firms usually use accounting indexes to set goals of the effect of business processes and combine the goals with monitoring and incentive schemes. Statistical data also show that incentive schemes get the lowest usage degree compared with goal-setting and monitoring. In addition, there are differences in their managerial accounting usages for BPM among firms considering ownership, industry, and scale. The main finding of this paper is that BPM empirically brings favorable changes to firms＇ economic performance via managerial accounting in general, and via goal-setting, monitoring, and incentive schemes in particular.     

Forensic Accounting and Fraud： Capability and Competence Requirements in Malaysia

The 2011 Global Economic Crime Survey instituted by PricewaterhouseCoopers （PwC） confirms the economic crime in Malaysia to be on the increase and, therefore, requires immediate attention to stem the tides. In anticipation of the challenges occasioned due to a shift from the modified cash basis to the accrual basis of accounting, the Malaysian State＇s determination to move from a developing nation to a developed nation, and to be ranked among the first 10 in 2020, this paper presents the need for forensic accountant and auditor capability （i.e., mindset and skills） on forensic accountant and auditor competence （i.e., task performance fraud risk assessment （TPFRA）） in the Malaysian public sector. It also draws the attention of the users of public sector accountants and auditors to the understanding of fraud mechanisms and how to deal with fraudsters. The population of this study comprised the accountants and auditors in the office of the Accountant General and Auditor General of Malaysia. The objective of this paper is to investigate the competence requirements of accountants and auditors in the effective and efficient utilization of capability requirements, which have the potentials to usher in the best global practices in fighting fraud in the Malaysian public sector.     

Fiscal transfers in Turkey: Do politics matter?

Local fiscal transfer rules in Turkey were revised in 2008, such that, while a significant portion of transfers continued to be based on population size, the remainder was distributed based on other criteria such as the development index. In this paper, we investigate the extent of fiscal fairness in Turkey during the period 2008–2012. We define fiscal fairness by the degree of association of transfers and local spending with the structural and socioeconomic indicators, as opposed to political-party associations. Our empirical analysis reveals that while local fiscal transfers during the investigated period were significantly correlated with the socioeconomic and structural indicators, political factors also played a significant role. Particularly, we find robust evidence that cities where the incumbent party-AKP (Justice and Development Party), who won significantly more votes in the general elections than the main opposition party-CHP (Republican People's Party), received significantly more transfers and fiscal spending than the rest. The evidence also suggests that the metropolitan municipalities held by CHP received significantly more government expenditure than the rest; though less robust than the former. This observation also holds for the metropolitan municipalities held by AKP. Additionally, we observe that cities with metropolitan municipalities that were governed by either the incumbent or the main opposition party, were less fiscally independent than the rest. We also note, however, that given the increasing opacity in data reporting, this study does not account for the large amounts of public funds that are allocated in tenders with special invitees, via public–private partnerships or in the form of social assistance, although they are also likely to constitute a major component of politically-biased fiscal transfers during the study period.     

Capital Structure and Regulation: Do Ownership and Regulatory Independence Matter?

We study the effect of ownership structure and regulatory independence on the interaction between capital structure and regulated prices using a comprehensive panel data of publicly traded European utilities. We find that firms in our sample tend to have a higher leverage if they are privately controlled and regulated by an independent regulatory agency. Moreover, the leverage of these firms has a positive and significant effect on their regulated prices, but not vice versa. Our results are consistent with the theory that privately controlled regulated firms use leverage strategically to obtain better regulatory outcomes.     

Does the Eco‐Management and Audit Scheme Foster Innovation in European Firms?

This paper studies whether environmental management systems can spur eco‐innovation, analyzing EMAS (Eco‐Management and Audit Scheme) adoption and patented innovations (at the European Patent Office) at firm level. It uses an original panel database of 30 439 European firms belonging to all sectors from 2003 to 2012. An original instrumental variable is implemented to control for potential endogeneity. The analysis reveals that EMAS adoption is conducive to more innovation at the firm level. The results vary across countries and sectors. In particular, EMAS is positively related to green patents for medium and low technology manufacturing. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

Do board composition and investor type influence innovativeness in SMEs?

Companies need to adapt and evolve if they wish to survive. Future success lies in the ability to develop innovative solutions for customer??s problems and needs. This study aims to explore the influence of corporate governance and ownership structure on (product) innovativeness in a sample of 49 small and medium sized firms (SMEs) in the Belgian manufacturing industries. The main findings of the study are twofold. Firstly, a significant positive relationship between innovativeness and the size of a firm??s board has been found. Secondly, business-to-consumer markets tend to be more innovative than business-to-business markets. No significant relationship was found between the investor type and a firm??s innovativeness.     

When do Firms go in for Growth by Acquisitions?

This paper analyses the incidence of acquisitions, and the determinants of expenditure or acquisitions, in a sample of 110 UK quoted companies, 1970–89. Financial variables, especially those related to Jensen's ‘free cash flow’ theory of acquisitions are found to be significant, notably for dominant firms. But there is little support for the inclusion of market structure variables which seek to capture the strategic role of acquisitions as an instrument of competition in oligopolistic markets.     

Collaboration practices, strategic capabilities and performance in Japanese and American product development: Do they differ?

Do New Product Development (NPD) collaboration practices differ across national subsets and, if so, does this make a difference to overall NPD performance? To address these questions, we studied the NPD programs of both Japanese and American firms and explored whether there are differences between the use of internal and external collaboration and strategic innovation practices. We further examined whether this had any significant effects on overall program performance. We found that the American firms we surveyed used collaboration practices significantly more often than the Japanese firms. However, when taking all factors into consideration, only strategic innovation capabilities were significantly linked with both overall performance and nationality. Thus, the use of collaboration without developing innovation capabilities is not enough for performance effects.     

Measuring the concentration of information and communication technology infrastructure in Australia: Do affordability and remoteness matter?

This study measures the concentration of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure and expenditure inequality in the disaggregated spatial unit of various locations in Australia. Using survey data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia, a composite concentration index for ICT infrastructure is constructed for urban and rural households. In addition, the Gini coefficient of ICT expenditure is computed to measure the concentration of affordability of ICT services. Findings demonstrate that the concentrations of ICT infrastructure and affosrdability are profound in the Greater Sydney and Greater Melbourne areas. Nevertheless, results indicate that the remoteness of spatial units has a noteworthy impact on the concentration of ICT infrastructure. In addition, canonical correlation analysis reveals that the association between the concentration of ICT infrastructure and inequality in the affordability of ICT services is statistically significant. These findings imply that policy makers should employ a holistic approach that will not only include technological and economic considerations but also examine place-based context in designing an all-inclusive ICT policy.     

Accounting Education Changes in USA and Its Implications to PRC

The internationalization of accounting education in PRC as one of the most important parts of Chinese accounting internationalization has been Americanized to some extent since 1980s. As the representative of the world＇s most advanced education system, the USA accounting education is worth learning, but had been suffering from a crisis in the past 20 years. To better understand this crisis and draw some lessons from it, we have to review the 100-year history of the US＇ accounting education, identify key initiatives taken to struggle out, and conclude that this accounting education crisis in USA is due to its congenital professional examination orientation and about 40 years of deviation of accounting education from accounting practice. This paper is ended with some policy recommendations on the future development of accounting education in PRC including establishing university board of trustees and re-engineering accounting programs.     

Bank profitability in the Eurasian Economic Union: Do funding liquidity and systemic importance matter?

The post-crisis regulatory architecture targets greater banking stability by imposing additional capital and liquidity requirements. Profit persistence, however, remains an important factor for attaining this goal. Using annual data for 2008–2017, this study analyzes the relationship between funding stability, systemic importance, and the profitability of banks in the three founding states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU): Russia, Kazakhstan, and Belarus. The results show a strong degree of stability in net interest margin (NIM) and a lack of persistence in return on assets (ROA). Compliance with the minimum level of the Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR) reduces both the funding liquidity risk and the NIM of EAEU banks. Moreover, systemically important banks in the region historically operate at a lower interest spread and less prudent NSFR, which implies a potentially greater adverse effect on their NIM. Bank-specific variables have various impacts depending on the measure of profitability. The results also highlight that greater market concentration protects the NIM and negatively impacts the ROA of EAEU banks. Finally, Western sanctions have a destabilizing effect on the NIM of EAEU banks, but not on systemically important banks.