COLLATERAL AND CREDIT RATIONING: A REVIEW OF RECENT EMPIRICAL STUDIES AS A GUIDE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

Abstract.  The relationship between firms and banks often suffers from informational opacity that may result in credit rationing. In theory, providing collateral to the bank can have a mitigating effect on these informational asymmetries and thus solve the credit-rationing problem. Even though collateral is already a widespread debt contract feature, recent trends predict that, in the future, collateral will become even more important for informationally opaque firms. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we provide a review of the recently growing empirical research on collateral as a remedy for credit rationing. Second, we would like to pinpoint gaps and limitations in current empirical research. Most studies contend with a flawed research design by not distinguishing between business and personal collateral and excluding other information opaqueness reducing tools such as the strength of the relationship between borrower and lender, loan maturity and covenants. We also discuss the limitations of using a single equation estimation method and the usefulness of incorporating interaction effects into the estimation models. Finally, we provide suggestions for fruitful research avenues that would fill these gaps and enrich the empirical knowledge in this research domain.     

MANAGEMENT CONTROL SYSTEMS IN FAMILY FIRMS: A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE AND DIRECTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

Family firms play a significant role in the global economy. Although family firm literature has devoted much time and effort to investigating topics concerning corporate governance, leadership, ownership and succession, accounting issues have received relatively scant attention. In this paper, we assemble and critically review extant literature on the choice of management controls. This is an essential topic for firms as management control systems (MCS) are used to make sure subordinates behave in function of the goals of the firm. Family firms, however, have distinct features, such as differences in governance structures and goals, which can have a significant impact on whether and how MCS are used. We conclude this review paper by providing avenues for future research that can advance our understanding of both the determinants and the outcomes of the choice of MCS.     

BANKING SECTOR PERFORMANCE,PROFITABILITY, AND EFFICIENCY: A CITATION-BASED SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

This study presents a citation-based systematic literature review on banking sector performance, particularly in terms of profitability, productivity, and efficiency. Specifically, the study aims to identify the leading sources of knowledge in terms of the most influential journals, authors, and papers. The paper presents a content analysis of the 100 most cited papers. In total, 1996 peer-review papers were found relevant in the Scopus database by using a comprehensive list of keywords. The results show that the Journal of Banking & Finance appears to be the leading journal in terms of publication count and citations. Based on total citations, Allen Berger is the most prolific author. The most cited paper is “Problem loans and cost efficiency in commercial banks” by Allan Berger and Robert DeYoung. The content analysis of the top 100 papers identifies five essential themes: determinants of efficiency, methodology, ownership, financial crises, and scale economies. In terms of estimation approaches, 74% of papers employed frontier analysis, which includes 34% parametric and 40% nonparametric methods, and remaining 26% have used financial ratio analysis. Additionally, stochastic frontier and data envelopment analysis are widely used in parametric and nonparametric methods, respectively. An intermediate approach is extensively adopted for the specification of inputs and outputs.     

A SURVEY OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE LITERATURE OF FINANCE AND GROWTH

Abstract.  This paper provides a survey of the recent progress in the literature of financial development and economic growth. The survey highlights that most empirical studies focus on either testing the role of financial development in stimulating economic growth or examining the direction of causality between these two variables. Although the positive role of finance on growth has become a stylized fact, there are some methodological reservations about the results from these empirical studies. Several key issues unresolved in the literature are highlighted. The paper also points to several directions for future research.     

AUTOREGRESSIVE CONDITIONAL DURATION MODELS IN FINANCE: A SURVEY OF THE THEORETICAL AND EMPIRICAL LITERATURE

Abstract.  This paper provides an up-to-date survey of the main theoretical developments in autoregressive conditional duration (ACD) modeling and empirical studies using financial data. First, we discuss the properties of the standard ACD specification and its extensions, existing diagnostic tests, and joint models for the arrival times of events and some market characteristics. Then, we present the empirical applications of ACD models to different types of events, and identify possible directions for future research.     

REVIEW OF LITERATURE ON WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT AND FUTURE RESEARCH AGENDA

The purpose of this study is to take a stock of what has been studied on working capital management (WCM) so far and ascertain the factors which are more likely to be impacted by poor WCM. Moreover, it aims to spell out the areas for further research on WCM so that the body of knowledge can be expanded. A systematic literature review of the research works on WCM has been performed using Google Scholar. Articles with citations of 50 and above as of June 05, 2018 are considered for the detailed citation based analysis. Further, classification of such articles has been done on the basis of common themes followed by a thorough content analysis. The citation based analysis suggests that there is a growing popularity of studies related to WCM in recent times. However, majority of the impactful studies are published in relatively lower category journals. This further intrigues us to explore the content of such studies. Based on the content, the studies are classified under five different themes. It is found that majority of the highly cited articles have examined the relation between the WCM and profitability of the firms. Moreover, repetitive uses of few proxies in such studies have also been identified. This finding most probably explains the reason behind so many highly cited articles getting published in relatively lower category journals. In view of this, this study tries to explore further scope of research on WCM and lists down potential research questions for the future researches. Firstly, it provides an idea about the most cited area of researches related to WCM and the recent growth of studies in this domain. Academicians can decide upon their future area of research based on the findings related to the proxies and outcome from these studies. Secondly, it shows the most popular avenue of publishing the articles related to WCM which will certainly motivate the researchers to pursue such study. It has been found from the analysis that majority of the impactful articles are published in lower category journals. Therefore, this study identifies the reason behind the same and lists down some innovative research questions to provide some future research directions. Thirdly, the finance managers can use this finding to identify the relevant consequences of poor WCM. Finally, it can serve as a reference point for all future ideas related to WCM. The paper classifies the present literature on WCM into five major themes and performs a content analysis of the same. This is essential as the content analysis highlights different proxies used as inputs which effectively drive efficient WCM. Moreover, the study also identifies the huge scope of future research in the domain of WCM. According to our limited knowledge, such extensive literature review on WCM is rare.     

REASONS FOR DELISTING AND CONSEQUENCES: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH AGENDA

This paper discusses the literature on delisting, drawing on USA and international evidence. Given the great heterogeneity in delisting operations, we first consider the standard existing typology based on the initiator of the delisting (the stock market authorities, or the firm itself). Second, while managers often cite high compliance costs (especially due to Sarbanes–Oxley Act implementation) as the official reason for the voluntary delisting of their firm, we highlight that firms face different trade-offs in their delisting decision. We also examine the reasons for involuntary delisting, especially the delisting dilemma faced by stock market authorities when the firm violates the listing requirements. Next, we review the economic consequences of delisting in terms of value creation or value destruction for shareholders. Finally, noting gaps in the literature and other contrasting results, we propose suggestions for future research.     

PRECAUTIONARY SAVING: A REVIEW OF THE EMPIRICAL LITERATURE

Standard macroeconomic models show that uncertainty plays a significant role in consumption and saving decisions under rather mild conditions, namely the convexity of the marginal utility of consumption. Increased uncertainty generates a positive extra saving, the so‐called ‘precautionary saving’. Although this hypothesis has been tested by a large number of authors, both at macro and micro level, the empirical results are not conclusive, and the main conclusion than can be drawn is that there is neither consensus on the intensity of that motive for saving, nor on the most appropriate measure of uncertainty. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the empirical literature discussing the main controversial issues and the different approaches followed by the studies addressing empirically the test of precautionary saving.     

BANKING AND BORROWING IN THE EU ETS: A REVIEW OF ECONOMIC MODELLING,CURRENT PROVISIONS AND PROSPECTS FOR FUTURE DESIGN

Abstract This paper deals with the issue of banking and borrowing in the context of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) by attempting to provide a policy‐oriented unifying theoretical framework. After describing the main features of the EU ETS, the core part of the paper consists of variations of an intertemporal continuous time optimization model. Additional elements include flexibility measures currently discussed and proposed in other emissions trading systems (USA, Australia), which include the use of safety valves, minimum price auctioning or offsets from domestic or international projects.     

EDUCATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP SELECTION AND PERFORMANCE: A REVIEW OF THE EMPIRICAL LITERATURE

Abstract This paper provides a review of empirical studies into the impact of formal schooling on entrepreneurship selection and performance in industrial countries. We describe the main effects found in the literature, we explain the variance in results across almost a hundred studies, and we put the empirical results in the context of related economic theory and the much further developed literature in labor economics (studying the rate of return to education among wage employees). Five main conclusions result from this meta‐analysis. First, the impact of education on selection into entrepreneurship is insignificant. Second, the effect of education on performance is positive and significant. Third, the return to a marginal year of schooling is 6.1% for an entrepreneur. Fourth, the effect of education on earnings is smaller for entrepreneurs than for employees in Europe, but larger in the USA. Fifth, the returns to schooling in entrepreneurship are higher in the USA than in Europe, higher for females than for males, and lower for non‐whites or immigrants. In conclusion, we offer a number of suggestions to move the research frontier in this area of inquiry. The entrepreneurship literature on education can benefit from the technical sophistication used to estimate the returns to schooling for employees.     

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN CONSUMER CREDIT AND DEFAULT LITERATURE

This survey discusses recent contributions to the quantitative literature on unsecured consumer debt and default, and some ongoing challenges for the literature. Key topics include the sources of the rise in personal bankruptcies, the importance of asymmetric information and the effects of developments in information technologies on consumer credit markets, delinquency and informal bankruptcy, debt collection and restructuring of distressed debt, the cyclical behavior of consumer debt and default, and the insurance role of household debt. Implications for welfare analysis and policy design are discussed. Several theoretical contributions and approaches to modeling the consumer credit markets are also highlighted.     

ECONOMIC RECESSIONS,BANKING REFORM AND THE FUTURE OF CAPITALISM1

In the 2010 London School of Economics and Political Science Hayek Memorial Lecture, the author argues that flaws in the design of the monetary and financial system were responsible for the global financial crisis and the subsequent recession. The crash reflected the unsustainable nature of the bubble induced by artificial credit expansion created by fractional‐reserve banking under the direction of central banks. Such boom–bust cycles will continue until radical reforms are implemented, including a 100% reserve requirement for demand deposits.     

ORGANIZATIONAL INNOVATION: REVIEW,CRITIQUE AND SUGGESTED RESEARCH DIRECTIONS*

Despite broad interest and a vast literature, understanding of innovative behaviour in organizations remains relatively undeveloped. to contribute to the development of a more cumulative knowledge base, the author presents a conceptual review of the innovation literature by summarizing and organizing prior research into three related, though often confounded, research streams and identifies major reasons for the inconsistent and inconclusive nature of the research. Strategies for conducting more generalizable innovation research are suggested.     

OFFSHORING, MULTINATIONALS AND LABOUR MARKET: A REVIEW OF THE EMPIRICAL LITERATURE

Abstract.  This paper reviews the empirical literature on the effects of offshoring and foreign activities of multinational enterprises on developed countries' labour markets. Results suggest that material offshoring worsens wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers; it also seems to make employment more volatile, by raising the elasticity of labour demand and the risk of job losses. Service offshoring exerts at most small negative effects on total employment, and changes the composition of the workforce in favour of high-skilled white-collar employees. Multinationals tend to substitute domestic and foreign labour in response to changes in relative wages across countries; substitutability is weak, however, and mainly driven by horizontal, market-seeking foreign direct investments.     

ETHNIC DIVERSITY,PUBLIC SPENDING,AND INDIVIDUAL SUPPORT FOR THE WELFARE STATE: A REVIEW OF THE EMPIRICAL LITERATURE

We review the empirical literature that studies the effect of ethnic diversity on public spending and on individual support for the welfare state. The survey puts a particular focus on the fast‐growing literature that uses experiments to study the effects of ethnic diversity. Many of these studies have appeared since the pioneering survey by Alesina and La Ferrara and have not been covered by a survey before.     

CORPORATE TAX AVOIDANCE: A LITERATURE REVIEW AND RESEARCH AGENDA

Tax avoidance can range from reduction of the corporate tax burden by legitimate use of tax rules to violation of tax laws. In this paper, we endeavor to synthesize the major findings of tax avoidance research from the accounting and finance literatures over the past ten years. We consider theoretical developments and the related empirical findings about the interconnected issues of measuring tax avoidance, and the possible causes and outcomes of corporate tax avoidance. We present some ideas for further research to examine underexplored topics regarding tax avoidance.     

MODELS OF BANKING INSTABILITY: A PARTIAL REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Abstract. This paper critically examines the theoretical literature on banking instability that has followed Diamond and Dybvig (1983). It explores the extent to which it (a) explains banking instability within a theoretical context in which financial intermediaries improve on unintermediated markets, and (b) justifies government involvement in the financial intermediation industry. It suggests that the literature has yet to provide a satisfactory theoretical basis for banking instability as such since the intermediaries which arise from it are peculiar mutual funds that bear little resemblance to real-world banks. In addition, the paper challenges the widespread belief that this literature provides a sound foundation for government involvement in the industry. It suggests that arguments for government intervention are open to objection on various grounds, the most important one being that they are inconsistent with the existence of properly motivated financial intermediation in these models.     

STRATEGIC TIME PERIODS AND STRATEGIC GROUPS RESEARCH: CONCEPTS AND AN EMPIRICAL EXAMPLE

This article briefly reviews previous research on strategic groups and focuses upon the influence of time on strategic positioning. This stability approach also motivates research into the dynamics of strategic group shifts. An illustrative example drawn from the drug industry emphasizes the practical application of these concepts. The analytically-derived strategic groupings are then compared with evidence drawn from industry and academic research. Finally, following discussion of the results, some suggestions about integrating the strategic group concept into strategic management research are also made.