Banking globalization and international business cycles: Cross-border chained credit contracts and financial accelerators

This paper constructs a two-country DSGE model to study the nature of the recent financial crisis and its effects that spread immediately throughout the world owing to the globalization of banking. In the model, financial intermediaries (FIs) enter into chained credit contracts at home and abroad, engaging in cross-border lending to entrepreneurs by undertaking cross-border borrowing from investors. The FIs as well as the entrepreneurs in two countries are credit constrained, so all of their net worths matter. Our model reveals that under FIs' globalization, adverse shocks that hit one country affect the other, yielding business cycle synchronization on both the real and financial sides. It also suggests that the FIs' globalization, net worth shock, and credit constraints are key to understanding the recent financial crisis.     

Causes and effects of consumer bankruptcies: a cross-cultural comparison

Data for this study were collected during 1988 through surveys conducted in Canada, Japan, Scotland and the United States. The overall objectives of the study were to determine differences in factors influencing decisions to file bankruptcy, expectations from bankruptcy and impact of bankruptcy filing on debtor's life in each country. It was found that over 50% of debtors in all countries except the United States (46%) identified ‘too much borrowing’ as a reason for having to file for bankruptcy. Most of the debtors in each country agreed that bankruptcy provided a ‘fresh start’. In addition, U.S. and Canadian debtors also indicated that filing for bankruptcy had a positive influence on their health status, family relations and the employment status. The impact of bankruptcy for Japanese debtors was rather harsh, resulting in family problems, health problems, suicides and running away from home. To help reduce the growth in bankruptcy and halt repeat bankruptcies, a multi-level effort focusing on lending practices, borrowing practices and bankruptcy procedures is needed.     

The relationship between strategic type and new service development competence: a study of Chinese knowledge intensive business services

Using the strategic orientation concept of Miles and Snow, the present study aims to test if differences in levels of new service development (NSD) competence exist between prospectors, analyzers, defenders, and reactors. Results from 192 Chinese knowledge intensive business service firms indicate that NSD competence varies in the relation to the firm’s strategic orientation. Prospectors and defenders have higher NSD competence than analyzers. Reactors have lower new service development competence than prospectors, defenders, and analyzers.     

Heterogeneity in business groups and the corporate diversification-firm performance relationship

This article examines how heterogeneous features among business groups influence the corporate diversification-firm performance relationship. The study classifies heterogeneity along three dimensions: group size, group diversity, and share ownership. Using a sample of firms from India, the study finds some evidence that for firms affiliated to larger business groups, corporate diversification enhances firm performance. However, business group diversity does not influence the diversification-performance relationship. The impact of diversification on firm performance differs substantially owing to the heterogeneity in share ownership. The paper documents an interesting interplay between business group and ownership structure.     

The moderating effect of institutional context on the relationship between associational activity and new business activity in emerging economies

Varying institutional environments provide the foundation for a great deal of international business (IB) research yet relatively little empirical work has examined the association between institutional factors and new business development in emerging economies, although the importance of new business development for economic transition and growth is widely acknowledged. Drawing from social network and institutional theories, we address this gap by examining the effect of associational activity on the level of new business activity in emerging economies, and testing the thesis that associational activity becomes more instrumental for new business creation when aspiring entrepreneurs confront higher institutional burdens (i.e., obstacles derived from underdeveloped or absent institutions). On the basis of data from two cross-national research projects—the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor and the World Values Survey—we find a positive relationship between a country's associational activity and new business activity; this relationship is stronger for higher regulatory and normative institutional burdens and lower cognitive institutional burdens. This study is among the first to examine empirically the possible substitution effect between social ties and institutions to predict new business activity; it paints a nuanced picture of how social networks might be more instrumental in contexts characterized by weak institutions. We discuss the implications of these findings for IB theory and practice and offer directions for further research in the area.     

Mutual commitment and experiential knowledge in mature international business relationship

This paper examines how market knowledge and market commitment are developed in mature supplier/customer relationships in international markets. It reports the empirical testing of a model of increasing commitment and experiential knowledge development in international business relationships. The assumption is that the connected relationships in a business network are the basis for forming a relationship and it will influence how the focal relationship develops. The model shows the process when a supplier increases his or her knowledge of the business network that a foreign customer is embedded in and what happens as their relationship with the customer becomes mature, stable and profitable. In this situation the firm does not invest as much as it did early on in the relationship but diverts its attention to firms that are more embedded in the local business network context. The model thus explicates a process of transition as a firm moves from one mature relationship to create new relationships as it increases its foreign market involvement.     

体验全新的商务飞行

经常做空中飞人的商务人士,经常会为飞行中的种种不适所困扰.且不说机舱座椅狭窄,舱内噪音过大,单是飞行中的单调与枯燥,长途飞行带来的劳顿,就会让人不堪忍受.     

The Internet of Things and new business opportunities

Since the Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging phenomenon, there is a lack of holistic understanding of what IoT is and what business opportunities it can offer for entrepreneurs and existing companies. This article has three main parts. First, it introduces IoT as a broad, socio-technical phenomenon. As a part of this goal, the article covers various elements within the technological, physical, and socioeconomic environments that comprise IoT. Second, this article proposes two approaches for creating new business models using IoT: a sustaining approach and a disruptive approach. The article concludes with a brief reflection on the extent to which the future of IoT can be predicted. This discussion brings up the limitations of the approach for creating new business models outlined in this article and provides guidelines on how this approach should be used. The ultimate goal of this article is to stimulate thinking, creativity, and entrepreneurship in relation to the IoT.     

Banking relationship and default priority in consumer credit: Evidence from Thai microdata

Banks play an important role in consumer credit, and when borrowers face a decision on whether to default on mortgage or non-mortgage loans first, banking relationship may matter. Our study provides first evidence into the interplay between banking relationship and consumer default priority via credit bureau data of 1 million individuals in Thailand. We find that same-bank borrowers are less likely to default on mortgage loans first, and borrowers with longer banking relationship and lower switching cost are more likely to default on mortgage loans first (which is welfare-improving). Our results suggest that banking relationship can lead to better outcomes for defaulting borrowers even when switching cost is high.     

Interactive resource development in new business relationships

Interaction in business relationships is a significant means of resource development. Studies of these processes have focused on interactive development in long-term relationships between buyer and supplier. This study explores the characteristics of joint resource development in new business relationships, where the two parties have no previous experience of interacting with each other. The study is based on the industrial network model and contains two cases of interactive development of new products with entirely different features. This research shows that joint development in a new relationship is strongly dependent on the resources of other business partners, since no previous adaptations exist between the two focal actors. Access to these resources is achieved through the established business relationships of the two parties. Furthermore, previous interactions with other business partners have a significant impact on the outcome of interactive development in a new business relationship. The main reason for these conditions is that the features of the resources of the two parties have evolved during these interactions.     

The emergence of new Islamic economic and business moralities

This article aims to explore the sources of the observed transformation in the embeddedness of economic, business, and financial practices of Muslim individuals in comparison to premodern period Muslims. It argues that the predomination of instrumental reasoning in modern times, as opposed to substantive morality in everyday practice, is one of the main reasons behind the transformation of embeddedness of Muslim individuals. Instrumental reasoning, being the dominant methodology, leads to diminished submergence in social relations; that is not limited to interpersonal relationships, but further extended to the core religious acts. How such an emergent economic and business morality is reconciled with the Islamic substantive morality is examined. It is argued that “transformation of exception into norm” is the main method used to reconcile instrumental reasoning with Islamic law in fulfilling religious obligations, at least in terms of fulfilling the form and in complying with the necessities of modern life. This has led to the emergence of new economic and business moralities.     

Assembling resources when forming a new business

Every business builds on a specific set of resources. New businesses in particular have to assemble external resources that are mostly new to them. This resource assembly requires developing business relationships with other actors that control and can provide the needed resources. Adopting a resource interaction perspective, this paper examines a case of a new business venture in the automobile industry. The case study shows that when forming a new business the actors possess only partial knowledge of how to assemble the resources. Consequently, the actors must engage in extensive adaptation and interaction with others to enact workable resource interfaces and combinations. This necessity makes the new business formation process nonlinear and onerous. Further, the case demonstrates that new business formation is a collective process involving not only the emergence of a formal business organization but also reorganizing the applicable resource market. Since third parties involved in developing the necessary resource combinations can be considered part of the new business venture, setting the boundaries of the new venture becomes arbitrary. The arbitrary nature of such boundary setting has implications in entrepreneurship studies with regard to the unit of analysis and the concept of opportunity.     

Service relationship,market area and the intrametropolitan location of business services

Drawing on the results of a survey conducted in the Lyon metropolitan area (France), this article shows that the localisation strategies of business services within a metropolitan area depend on the nature of the relationship between the service provider and the customer and the size of the market area. When face-to-face meetings with customers are required, those activities which sell their services within the metropolitan area attempt to locate near their market and those whose customers are essentially outside the metropolitan area choose the centre because of its easy access to motorways, the TGV station and the airport. Otherwise, an accessible peripheral site can be perfectly suitable, whatever the firm's market area.     

The role of communication competencies in international business relationship development

Effective communication between international business partners is critical for global success. Underlying national and organizational cultural differences in international business relationships creates hurdles to effective communication, hindering performance. To assist managers in understanding this issue, a model of communication effectiveness for international relationship development, derived from industry examples, theory, and a dataset consisting of 123 qualitative interviews conducted with American, Canadian, Chinese, and Japanese managers is presented. Further, in order to assist managers in the task of developing more effective communications, a six-step process aimed in directing managerial action is presented. By proactively managing its communications, a firm can develop stronger international business relationships facilitating the rapid response to market opportunities and challenges.     

基于社会关系嵌入的私人银行业务发展探究

随着高净值人群的快速增长,我国私人银行业规模也迅速扩张,但同时遭遇服务供不应求、盈利状况不佳及客户群不稳定的发展瓶颈。基于我国特有的文化背景和私人银行客户群的特殊理财观,本文指出将社会关系嵌入私人银行服务的必要性及其在现实中的发展状况。细分客户群和提升专业服务能力是社会关系嵌入式的私人银行服务得以实施的基础。     

Judging a business by its cover: An institutional perspective on new ventures and the business plan

Business plans are widely spread among new businesses, and they are supported by various universities, governmental assistance agencies, management consultants and a wide array of literature. Business plans are often taken for granted as highly useful tools that should be frequently updated and used. This study is based on data from six companies and their environments, over five years, using several forms of data collection such as interviews, observations, and archival data. In contrast to previous studies, we found that initial conformity to business plan norms gradually and without exception lead to loose coupling. Entrepreneurs who wrote business plans never updated or rarely referred to their plans after writing them.     

企业社会责任:企业发展的新阶段

在前几期,本刊介绍了作者对于企业社会责任作为新型管理模式给企业管理带来的变革性意义。本期作者又提出企业社会责任是企业发展的新阶段的观点,作者认为,企业社会责任作为一种影响着思想和表达的所有领域的重要时代精神,正在融入我们的社会和人们的思想观念,影响着社会经济生活的方方面面。