Network analysis of a new export grouping scheme: The role of economic and non-economic relations

Export grouping schemes can be viewed as an attempt to manage network development. This article examines a new Australian export grouping scheme in terms of its role and impact on the industrial network of which it is a part. The role played by non-economic exchange relations as well as economic, buyer-seller, exchange relations are emphasised, including competitive and potential interfirm relations and the way informal interpersonal relations. Spawned initially by formal grouping processes, were found to play an important part in group functioning and in outcomes from group activities.     

Internationalization of Small Family Firms: The Influence of Family from a Socioemotional Wealth Perspective

We explore the factors influencing the internationalization of small family firms. Based on interviews with six family firms in Singapore, we highlight the importance of (1) family harmony, (2) trust in external relationships, (3) social and business networks, and (4) organizational resources and capabilities in the internationalization process. We show how the socioemotional wealth factors of trust and harmony affect networking and resources, which in turn affect internationalization. We find that initial internationalization through exports is enabled through trust in family networks, but the typical family characteristics of a desire to maintain family harmony and distrust of outsiders have a negative impact on network creation and resource development, which constrains the extent to which the firm internationalizes beyond exporting. In order to move from the first stage (exports/similar markets) to the second stage (joint ventures/different markets) of internationalization, less emphasis on trust and family harmony accompanied by more emphasis on building external networks and resources may be necessary. We propose a new model of internationalization of family firms based on our findings. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Fast but fragile: British restructuring for foreign direct investment in a global era

In the ‘globalization’ debates of the early 1990s, the Anglo-American practices of rapid restructuring to achieve ‘attractiveness’ to foreign direct investment tended to be presented as the universal panacea for dealing with the pressures of global change. However, the East Asian economic crises of the late 1990s have precipitated a widespread questioning, both of the export-oriented ‘Asian model’ of development, and of the possible contagion spreading to the western financial market and ‘FDI attracting’ western states. This article considers the ‘fast but fragile’ nature of Anglo-Saxon style restructuring in the light of the political-economic and social crises experienced by East Asian state-societies. The discussion focuses specifically on the British approach to restructuring for FDI, arguing that this reflects and embodies both a distinctive set of state-societal relations, and a distinctive understanding of what the process of globalization implies for these relations.     

Is it the Kids or the Schedule?: The Incremental Effect of Families and Flexible Scheduling on Perceived Career Success

Flexible work arrangements (FWAs) are widely offered in public accounting as a tool to retain valued professional staff. Previous research has shown that participants in FWAs are perceived to be less likely to succeed in their careers in public accounting than individuals in public accounting who do not participate in FWAs (Cohen and Single, 2001). Research has also documented an increasing backlash against family–friendly policies in the workplace as placing unfair burdens on individuals without children. Building directly on a previous study in this journal (Cohen and Single, 2001), this study addresses the issue of whether the documented perceptions toward FWA participants are the result of electing to take part in the FWA or the result of bias against employees with children. The research questions are addressed in a 3 × 2 experimental setting in which we manipulate FWA participation, along with family status and gender of a hypothetical manager in a public accounting firm. Our findings indicate that FWA participants are viewed as less likely to advance and as less committed than individuals without children or individuals who had children but who were not taking part in a FWA. Male FWA participants are viewed as less likely to succeed than female FWA participants. This effect appears to arise from a perception that FWA participants are willing to make sacrifices in their careers to accommodate family needs and thus may not be as committed to making the sacrifices perceived as necessary to meet the rigorous demands of the public accounting environment. This raises the ethical question of what could be done to change the culture in public accounting to foster a substantive support system for individuals who want to balance a family and a career.     

Information Sharing,Price Negotiation and Management Buy-outs of Private Family-owned Firms

Perspectives relating to agency theory, information asymmetries and game theory were utilized to explore two outcomes associated with the management buy-out (MBO) or management buy-in (MBI) of former private firms: whether information was shared equally between vendors (i.e., family firm owners) and purchasers (i.e., MBO/I management teams) and whether a mutually agreed price was achieved. With reference to the themes of company ownership structure, governance structure and company objectives several hypotheses were derived. Survey evidence was gathered from the managers of 114 former private family-owned firms located across Europe that recently reported an MBO/I. Multiple logistic regression analysis detected that respondents in founded (first generation) family firms and those reporting a high focus on the strategic importance of the market value increment were more likely to report that ‘information was shared equally between vendors and purchasers’. Respondents reporting no suitable family successor had been identified, a high focus on the strategic importance of the market value increment, and the involvement of venture capitalists in succession planning were more likely to report that a mutually agreed sale price had been achieved. Implications for practitioners and researchers are discussed.      

The relative importance of liquidity and other constraints inhibiting the growth of small‐scale farming in KwaZulu‐Natal

A logit model is used to examine the extent of liquidity constraints relative to other constraints inhibiting small‐scale farming in KwaZulu‐Natal. These other constraints include poor access to land, labour and information, and high transaction costs. Data for the analysis were sourced from two rural districts in the former KwaZulu. The results suggest that liquidity is important, while imperfect land markets, information costs and high transaction costs are also significant inhibiting factors. Investments in literacy and language skills, vocational training, and business and financial management skills may improve income opportunities for rural people and hence enhance their ability to invest, save and borrow. Better roads, telecommunications and legal institutions are also required to realise the full benefit of investment in extension and credit services.     

Swedish engineering employers: The search for industrial peace in the absence of centralised collective bargaining

The Swedish engineering employers’ association recently shifted away from the dramatic decentralisation of bargaining it had pioneered. Behind this shift were employer desires for better guarantees of industrial peace. The authors conclude by stressing the importance of the relationships between employer strategy, historical contingency and debates on bargaining structure.     

The temporal nature of legitimation: the case of IFRS8

Legitimation can operate on an episodic or continual basis [Suchman, M.C. (1995). Managing legitimacy: Strategic and institutional approaches. Academy of Management Review, 20(3), 571–610]. We examine the temporal legitimation of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)’s actions during the adoption and review of International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) 8 ‘Operating Segments’. We conceptualise the controversy surrounding IFRS8 as an episode when the IASB sought segmental reporting convergence with the US standard, Statement of Financial Accounting Standard 131. Interpreting evidence from 15 (20) semi-structured interviews undertaken in 2009 (2011), before (after) entities reported under IFRS8, reveals its adoption precipitated an episodic legitimacy threat from selected audiences to the actions of the IASB. We discuss the IASB's attempt to influence legitimation for this episode through commitment to a post-implementation review [IFRS Foundation. (2011). Post implementation reviews: Plan for developing the framework for conducting post-implementation reviews. IASB Board meeting February 2011. Retrieved July 27, 2011, from http://www.ifrs.org/NR/rdonlyres/3E1502E4-F1E8-4907-838B-FFB20C7268ED/0/PIR02111st2ndb04obs.pdf] of IFRS8. Interpreting legitimacy concerns across diverse audiences about specific actions of the IASB (the introduction of IFRS8) enables us to draw conclusions about the resilience of the IASB as a standard setting organisation, in itself.