Staying in or stepping out? Growth strategies of second-generation immigrant entrepreneurs

Second generation immigrant entrepreneurs (SGIEs) in developed economies have contributed to the emergence of new areas of business activity, especially in information technology, business services, and creative industries. An understanding of their growth strategies can shed light on the role of individual immigrants in the founding of potentially global firms competing with large multinational enterprises. Based on eleven case studies of SGIEs of Indian origin in the UK, our findings reveal that SGIEs are heterogeneous in their growth strategies contingent on their a) founding or succession context, and b) use of social ties. Founder SGIEs combining non-co-ethnic ties with non-family co-ethnic ties geographically expand outward to other foreign countries, including their country of origin. In contrast, successor SGIEs combining non-co-ethnic ties with family ties expand their product/ service scope within the UK; they exploit foreign market links, including their country of origin, to source supplies or customers through inward internationalization. These findings contribute to the immigrant entrepreneurship, international business and international entrepreneurship literatures.     

In Support of Public or Private Interests? An Examination of Sanctions Imposed Under the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) monitors the misconduct of its members using the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct (CPC). To accomplish this task, the AICPA relies on various stakeholders to report known violations of its CPC. We examine the full population of sanctions imposed by the AICPA on its members under its CPC from 2008–2013 to identify recent trends in the misconduct of accounting professionals. While we find that multiple stakeholders identify and report violations, we also find that the most common types of violations remain consistent with those reported in the 1990s. Further, we develop a taxonomy based on prior accounting literature to determine whether the AICPA CPC is being enforced to defend the public interest and/or the private interests of the accounting profession. In contrast to prior studies, our results suggest that as the accounting profession emerges from a recession and period of intense public scrutiny, the AICPA CPC is largely being enforced to defend the public interest. This public interest focus was most pronounced during the recessionary years of 2008–2010, as evident from misconduct reported by parties such as the Internal Revenue Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and state boards of accountancy. Although key stakeholders have recently focused on reporting misconduct that threatens the public interest, we believe there are still areas in need of improvement, especially around the level of detail provided in the AICPA’s sanction records. We propose some possible solutions to improve public transparency.     

In or Out? Standards,Discretion, Compliance and the WTO

Self‐enforcement in international agreements in the presence of uncertainty in the form of shocks and imperfect information regarding the extent of compliance by other members is enhanced by the use of standards in performance of commitments. Standards are less precise than rules. They must be sufficiently demanding that undercompliance is distinguishable from non‐compliance. Discretion permits undercompliance as an alternative to renegotiation of commitments, safeguards and the filing of disputes. Undercompliance, particularly when restrained, is a lower cost and less confrontational resolution to addressing adverse shocks. Signatories are restrained in undercomplying so that the effects of their actions are imperfectly distinguishable from the effects of shocks. Compliance and evidentiary standards for formal disputes define the accomplishments of the agreement. Evidentiary standards serve as an important discipline to undercompliance even in the absence of formal disputes.     

Expanding near the home base or venture far? The influence of home country state on the economic distance of foreign direct investments

The extent of the economic distance between a firm's home origin and its foreign direct investment (FDI) is an important strategic decision for the investing firm. This study fills an important knowledge gap by investigating the home institutional antecedents of FDI economic distance. Drawing insights from comparative institutionalism, we argue that home-country states vary in both their power to coordinate the economy and the external and internal channels through which they exercise that power. These variations have implications on a firm's motivation and capability to escape external dependencies on the home-country state by investing in economically distant foreign locations. Empirically, using a dataset of 891 new international entrants from 2004 to 2011, we found support for our hypotheses that home-country state power is positively associated with FDI economic distance, and that the influence of the home-country state is contingent on the state's governance quality and its ownership in firms.     

Settlement of the Case of the Enforcement of CIETAC Arbitral Awards Barred in Hebei and Hong Kong

Recently, Under the conduction of HebeiConciliation Center, by fully utilizing the advantages of conciliation, two cases arising outof the impediments to the enforcement ofCIETAC's awards in the Courts of Heibei Prov-ince and Hong Kong have been properly settled. The proper settlement of the two casesdefends CIETAC's honor, manifests the significant role of the Conciliation Center and protects the investment environment of Hebei province meanwhile, for which Mr. Ye Liansong,Secretary…     

Credit rating agencies: Part of the solution or part of the problem?

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Credit rating agencies: Part of the solution or part of the problem?     

Associational autonomy or political influence? The case of the cooperation between the Danish Dairies' Buttermark Association and the Danish state, 1900–1912

Studies show that it may be risky for business associations to cooperate with the state. Trapped in a dilemma between a ‘logic of membership’ and a ‘logic of influence’, these associations may obtain political influence from cooperation but only at the risk of losing their associational autonomy, which often leads to dissatisfaction among members. This article presents an illustrative example of the loss of associational autonomy within the context of agricultural corporatism, namely the cooperation between the Buttermark Association (BA) and the Danish state on a law-supported branch trademark for all Danish butter intended to ensure high quality and hinder the fraudulent sale and adulteration of milk. This trademark is the famous lur brand required by Danish law from 1906 and still in use today.     

International Capital Is Flowing out of China?

I Unstable situation brings concerns about international capital flows in China. International capital flows refers to the country-to-country or region-to-region movement of capital.It consists of the inflow and outflow of capital in the form of FDI,FPI,international borrowing and     

Government spending or deficit financing: which causes crowding out?

Economists have different opinions about the impact of federal deficits on interest rates. One reason for this difference is confusion about the effects of changes in government spending and the effects of how the spending is financed. A simple dynamic model is used to demonstrate that although increases in government spending increase interest rates, increases in the bond stock, by themselves, do not. In addition, the response of the monetary authority to the fiscal change is incorporated in the model.     

The role of the human resources manager: strategist or conscience of the organisation?

The human resource manager treads a fine line in seeking to reconcile the values of the organisation with professional values about the ethical management of people. This paper seeks to explore this ambiguity. The research findings suggest that the extent to which HR professionals can influence organisational ethics is dependent on the culture and structure of the organisation, as well as on the status and credibility of the HR specialists themselves. In the main there is little evidence that their influence is significant.     

Does size matter? The state of the art in small business ethics

In this paper the exclusive focus on large firms in the field of business ethics is challenged. Some of the idiosyncrasies of small firms are explained, and links are made between these and potential ethical issues. A review of the existing literature on ethics in small firms demonstrates the lack of appropriate research, so that to date we can draw no firm conclusions in relation to ethics in the small firm. Recommendations are made as to the way forward for small firm business ethics research. Questions for investigation are suggested using micro, meso and macro perspectives. Much exploratory work needs to be done to lay the groundwork for this important area of social and commercial research in the future.     

Exploitation or Choice? Exploring the Relative Attractiveness of Employment in the Maquiladoras

This study investigates the relative attractiveness of production level jobs provided by multinational firms in Mexico's maquiladora industry. We take the position that workers themselves are an important and often overlooked source of information relevant to the controversy focusing on the responsibilities of multinational companies to their employees in the developing world. We conducted interviews with 59 maquila production level workers in the Mexican cities of Cd. Juárez and Chihuahua. Using a relative attractiveness framework that compared maquila jobs to other employment available in the local economy, maquila line and technical workers responded to questions addressing why they were working at a maquila, their work history, the attractiveness of maquila jobs compared to both their prior jobs and the jobs held by friends and family, and whether they planned to continue working in the maquilas. While the responses from maquila workers are diverse, they suggest that maquila jobs provide attractive employment for the economically disadvantaged in Northern Mexico.     

Art of the possible or fool's errand? Diffusion of large-scale management innovation

Organizations are continually challenged to increase efficiency and improve performance despite frequent cuts to personnel and budgets. These challenges force organizations to identify, develop, and diffuse various management innovations. Diffusion efforts are often met by resistance, reluctance, or ambivalence, resulting in what many consider to be a fool's errand. While management innovation may not be the forte of large, bureaucratic organizations, we present a case study of a U.S. Air Force maintenance, repair, and overhaul organization that has recently, and successfully, diffused a large-scale management innovation. Results from the case study support the development of a diffusion of innovation framework that identifies important mechanisms associated with the acceptance, routinization, and assimilation of management innovation. The framework informs leaders of the diffusion process, while the recommended actions of relentless leadership, deliberate development of personnel, and enterprise involvement drive diffusion efforts and help leaders achieve desired results in innovation diffusion and associated performance improvement. Overall, we assert that the pursuit of management innovation is not necessarily beyond the art of the possible for business leaders.     

Financing health care: out of whose pocket?

Health expenditures have grown steadily in the United States, but though United States spending is the highest in the world, it may not be as far out of line as is often assumed. However, although the economy is capable of absorbing an increasing amount of health care without reducing other consumption, financing mechanisms are breaking down. That part of Medicare financed through payroll taxes will be insolvent by the year 2003; the rest of Medicare and all of Medicaid adds to a growing budget deficit. And, the free market fails to provide rational long-term financing of long-term care.     

Are the determinants of capital structure country or firm specific?

In this paper we investigate the capital structure determinants of Greek, French, Italian, and Portuguese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We compare the capital structures of SMEs across countries and differences in country characteristics, asset structure, size, profitability, risk, and growth and how these may impact capital structure choices. The results show that SMEs in these countries determine their capital structure in similar ways. We attribute these similarities to the country institutional and financial characteristics and the commonality of their civil law systems. However, structural differences arise due to firm specific effects. We find that size is positively related to leverage while the relationship between leverage and asset structure, profitability and risk is negative. Growth is not a statistically significant determinant of leverage for any of the four countries. Our main conclusion is that firm-specific rather than country facts explain differences in capital structure choices of SMEs.     

Germany’s debt brake: Pulling the EU out of its debt trap?

How high would be the opportunity costs of the introduction of a German-style debt brake in other EU member states? The following article calculates these and concludes that they would in many cases be politically unacceptable. The author proposes an alternative solution, a “debt brake light”.     

Rethinking the boundaries of social marketing: Activism or advertising?

In some areas of public health concern, corporate marketing activities may negate social marketing messages targeting individuals. Traditional social marketing campaigns may be ineffective when commercial marketing activities create an environment that encourages and maintains unhealthy behaviors. This article explores the role of social marketing in these instances.