Toward a model of governance and legality in transforming economies: Empirical evidence from China

This article develops and empirically examines a model of governance and legality of organizations in countries under significant system transformation. While previous research has focused on issues of governance structures, this study suggests that organizational legality is equally important. An analysis of survey data from 127 Chinese managers demonstrates that governance and legality are distinct dimensions. We suggest that an application of this empirically corroborated model to other transformational economies may reveal different configurations of the organizational field, mirror contrasting reform strategies, and indicate the possibility for alternative routes of organizational transformation. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

How Chinese Agricultural Immigrants Affect Farmers in the Russian Far East

China’s international position as a net creditor nation provides it with foreign exchange that it has invested in Asian and African countries. One example is China's investment in the Russian Far East (RFE). Thousands of Chinese agricultural workers have migrated to the RFE in recent decades. They are often welcomed by Russian farmers who face a labor shortage and by local residents who can buy cheap vegetables from them, but there are others who resent their presence in the region as competitors. Our study is the first empirical study of this relationship. Our results demonstrate economic benefits to the Russian households. There are, however, some negative repercussions of Chinese farmers in the RFE, and the governments of both China and Russia need to manage the situation wisely.     

Integrated Management of Land Use Systems under Systemic Risks and Security Targets: A Stochastic Global Biosphere Management Model

Interdependencies among land use systems resemble a complex network connected through demand–supply relationships. Disruption of this network may catalyse systemic risks affecting food, energy, water and environmental security (FEWES) worldwide. We describe the conceptual development, expansion and practical application of a stochastic version of the Global Biosphere Management Model (GLOBIOM), used to assess competition for land use between agriculture, bioenergy and forestry at regional and global scales. In the stochastic version of the model, systemic risks of various kinds are explicitly covered and can be analysed and mitigated in all their interactions. While traditional deterministic scenario analysis produces sets of scenario‐dependent outcomes, stochastic GLOBIOM explicitly derives robust outcomes that leave the systems better‐off, independently of which scenario applies. Stochastic GLOBIOM is formulated as a stochastic optimisation model that is critical for evaluating portfolios of robust interdependent decisions: ex‐ante strategic decisions (production allocation, storage capacities) and ex‐post adaptive (demand, trading, storage control) decisions. As an example, the model is applied to the question of optimal storage facilities, as buffers for production shortfalls, to meet regional and global FEWES requirements when extreme events occur. Expected shortfalls and storage capacities have a close relationship with Value‐at‐Risk (VaR) and Conditional Value‐at‐Risk (CVaR) risk measures. A Value of Stochastic Solutions is calculated to illustrate the benefits of the stochastic over the deterministic model approach.     

Are multiple labels on food products beneficial or simply ignored?

This study examines consumer preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for organic wheat products exhibiting single labels, as well as multiple labels, including organic. The additional labels considered are related to the organic label (non-genetically modified organism [non-GMO]) or perceived as health-promoting (gluten-free, low-carb, sugar-free). Study data were collected using a consumer survey conducted online in 2017 across 16 U.S. western states and analyzed using random parameter logit models. Findings show that organic-labeled wheat products with additional claims were valued equally or less than the organic only version. Overall, consumer higher objective and subjective knowledge of organic standards, as well as preferences for gluten-free products, increased their WTP for organic wheat products. Consumers unfamiliar with organic standards valued the non-GMO label over the organic label. Additionally, consumer WTP for health-related claims on hedonistic products was low or even negative. Hence, multiple labels on organic products generally provide no additional consumer benefit and are likely ignored. Study findings suggest that using the claim that most distinguishes the product, or is most salient, may improve product pricing. Also, non-GMO certification rather than organic certification should be considered for some markets. Finally, consumers with preferences for gluten-free products represent a potential market for organic wheat products.     

Risks of deflation versus risks of excessive inflation in Europe

Economists are currently divided over the question of what represents a more immediate threat to the global economy — deflation or excessive inflation. Using stochastic simulations, this article extrapolates the likely inflation rates in individual European countries and the euro area as a whole. The results indicate that as the financial crisis continues to subside, policymakers should be vigilant about expeditiously rolling back the unconventional monetary policy measures implemented during the crisis.     

Start‐up Motivations and Growth Intentions of Minority Nascent Entrepreneurs

Firm growth is widely considered to be a measure of success for entrepreneurial businesses. Data indicate that there are systematic differences between minority and nonminority‐owned firms with respect to growth. Black entrepreneurs are 50 percent more likely to engage in start‐up activities than white entrepreneurs, however, black‐owned firms are smaller and less profitable than their white‐owned counterparts. Following the effort–performance–outcome–logic of expectancy theory and using data from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (PSED), our paper investigates the differences between black and white entrepreneurs' motivations to start and intentions to grow a new venture. Findings indicate that there are significant differences in motivations between black and white entrepreneurs both in starting and in their intentions to grow the new venture. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Metaphors and organizational identity in the Italian public services

This article calls in question the stereotyped image of the lazy and idle employee, lacking motivation or a sense of responsibility. In analysing three case histories in the secretarial offices of a major university department, in a registry office and in a specialist ward in a medium-size hospital, we discovered an unexpected world of cooperation, commitment and initiatives. In this research attention focuses on the operators’ point of view, i.e. the complex interactions with the public, the symbolic frames created to justify one's own role and routine, the metaphors used to explain the dilemma of a difficult everyday life. Running a service means offering a non-material product in which personal attitudes, organizational abilities and communication codes all play a decisive role. Perhaps the observation of small communities at work may help us to find that lost way out of the labyrinth of the Italian public administration.     

Asymptotic Investment Behaviors under a Jump-Diffusion Risk Process

We study an optimal investment control problem for an insurance company. The surplus process follows the Cramer-Lundberg process with perturbation of a Brownian motion. The company can invest its surplus into a risk-free asset and a Black-Scholes risky asset. The optimization objective is to minimize the probability of ruin. We show by new operators that the minimal ruin probability function is a classical solution to the corresponding HJB equation. Asymptotic behaviors of the optimal investment control policy and the minimal ruin probability function are studied for low surplus levels with a general claim size distribution. Some new asymptotic results for large surplus levels in the case with exponential claim distributions are obtained. We consider two cases of investment control: unconstrained investment and investment with a limited amount.     

IFRS framework-based case study: DaimlerChrysler – Adopting IFRS accounting policies

This instructional case applies a framework-based approach to explore the concept of comparability in financial reporting and retrospective application of new accounting policies. The DaimlerChrysler (DC) case provides an opportunity for you to research key financial reporting concepts, analyze accounting policy differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS, determine adjustments necessary to convert financial statements from U.S. GAAP to IFRS, and compute and discuss key ratio impacts following financial statement conversion. This case demonstrates that transitioning to IFRS is more than an accounting issue; it provides opportunities for financial restructuring (e.g., Daimler’s amendments to pension plans and its 2007 sale of Chrysler). It also illustrates the importance of professional judgment when initially adopting IFRS accounting policies. Also, despite FASB and IASB convergence efforts, you learn that most of the key differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS identified in DC’s reconciliations continue today. This case helps you to: (1) develop skills to interpret and apply the requirements on first-time adoption of IFRS to a real-world setting; (2) research key differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS and their effects on the financial statements and ratios; and (3) understand significant impacts of the transition to IFRS on businesses and financial statements. Completing the case develops your critical thinking and research/technological skills.     

Organizational coping with institutional upheaval in transition economies

The radical change in corporate governance systems is fundamental to the period of institutional upheaval characterizing transition economies. Using an institutional theory framework, this paper develops a model of responses to this change. The model is tested with data from 1,723 firms in 22 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States. The results suggest that a firm’s adaptation to the new governance order will be facilitated or hampered depending on the characteristics of the institutional and organizational contexts it faces. A major implication of the study is the need to consider cultural and contextual embeddedness in explaining how governance systems transform.