GOVERNANCE INSTITUTIONS AND PRIVATE INVESTMENT: AN APPLICATION TO THE MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA

This paper addresses the issue of the low level of private investment in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with special emphasis on the role of governance. Based on the existing published reports, we categorize what types of governance institutions are more detrimental to entrepreneurial investments. We then estimate a simultaneous model of private investment and governance quality where economic policies concurrently explain both variables. Our empirical results show that governance plays a significant role in private investment decisions. This result is particularly true in the case of “administrative quality” in the form of control of corruption, bureaucratic quality, investment‐friendly profile of administration, law and order, as well as for “political stability.” Evidence in favor of “public accountability” is also found. Our estimations also stress that structural reforms like financial development, trade openness, and human development affect private‐investment decisions directly, and/or through their positive effect on governance.     

“Linguistic Distance” as a Determinant of Bilateral Trade

We introduce a measure of language difficulty called “linguistic distance” into a modified gravity model to determine whether a language being further away from English affects the level of trade. Our sample of 36 non-English-speaking countries includes Japan and South Korea, which we argue are special cases because of World War II, the Korean War, and subsequent close political and economic ties with the United States. Presence of a stock of immigrants in the home country has been shown to enhance trade with the country of origin. Controlling for immigrant network and information attributes, the special relationship with Japan and Korea, and the standard gravity model variables, we find that trade will be less between the United States and a country the further that country's language is from English. These results hold for aggregate exports and imports and for exports and imports of consumer and producer manufactures.     

区域交通与土地利用耦合关系研究

在系统分析了区域交通与土地利用特征的基础上,对区域交通与土地利用的相互作用机制进行了研究,并提出了区域交通-土地利用耦合系数的概念.以黄石市1996-2004年间的交通、城镇建设和耕地的用地规模进行分析,结果显示近年来黄石市的交通-土地利用存在较为密切的关系,近年来交通得到较大发展,因而耦合系数呈增长趋势.     

Linking owner–managers' personal sustainability behaviors and corporate practices in SMEs: The moderating roles of perceived advantages and environmental hostility

Drawing on managerial discretion and conflicting institutional logics literature, this study investigates the relation between the personal sustainability behaviors (PSB) of owner–managers and the corporate sustainability practices (CS practices) of SMEs. The research proposes a contingency model that assesses the moderating effects of perceived economic advantages and environmental hostility on this relationship. Based on linear hierarchical multiple regression analyses of a cross‐sectoral sample of French SMEs, the results suggest a positive influence of the manager's PSB on the SME's CS practices that appears to be differently moderated depending on the type of practice considered. The influence on environmental practices is fostered through the perception of economic advantages. The influence on workplace practices is only effective when the business environment is deemed benign and the influence on community practices is dampened by the perception of environmental hostility. Highlighting the trade‐off between the manager's personal values and the SME's economic constraints, these findings contribute to a better understanding of the critical antecedents of sustainability in small businesses.     

Measuring sustainability risks: A rational myth?

The objective of this paper is to investigate the rigorousness and reliability of sustainability rating agencies' evaluation of corporate sustainability risks. Using grounded theory, this study conducts a qualitative analysis of 32 semi‐structured interviews with practitioners involved in this activity and shows the trade‐offs and rational myths underlying this evaluation process. The image of rationality and rigorousness projected by sustainability risk measurements is mostly intended to address the increasing institutional pressures for reliable and comparable information, particularly from institutional investors and socially responsible investment decision makers. Nevertheless, risk analysts face serious challenges due to the lack of reliable information, the unpredictability of sustainability risks, the methodological issues related to the measurement process, and the complexity and context‐dependency of risk assessment. These challenges call into question the official and optimistic rhetoric of rating agencies. This study contributes to the literature on sustainability risks and rational myths in organizations. Managerial implications and avenues for future research are also discussed.     

Institutional and organizational trajectories in social economy enterprises: Resilience,transformation and regeneration

Social economy enterprises (SEEs) are arousing notable interest as promising alternatives where social innovation, business ownership and governance are concerned. In this context, a renewed debate about the internal changes and organizational trajectories experienced by these organizations has emerged in the scholarly literature. This special issue aims to contribute to ongoing debates in this field by advancing our understanding of the external pressures and internal dynamics that can trigger degeneration in SEEs, the conditions and factors that allow SEEs preserving their hallmark values and practices, and the resources and processes of organizational change that SEEs can deploy to overcome degeneration and regenerate. In this editorial introduction we introduce the topic of research, describe the content of the current special issue, and highlight some conclusions and possible directions for future research.     

A re-examination of accruals quality following restatements

Empirical research from the first years following the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in the US suggests that firms improve accruals quality following restatements, but the materiality of restatements has declined since then. This decline may affect firms' responses to restatements, and hence we re-examine whether restatements are associated with subsequent improvements in accruals quality in a more recent sample. We compare the changes in accruals quality of firms restating between 2000 and 2014 with that of a control group. We do not find that firms improve accruals quality more than the control group following a restatement, even when we isolate the types of restatements considered to be most material. However, we do find that restatements followed by the most negative stock market reactions are associated with a relative increase in accruals quality, indicating that only restatements deemed very severe by investors lead to subsequent improvements in accruals quality. Our results suggest that firms' responses to restatements have changed concurrently with the trend of fewer and less material restatements in recent years.     

Technological change and the spatial restructuring of data entry and processing services

Technological change in the data entry and processing industry has profound implications for the future location and nature of industry jobs. Without specific policies, rural areas of the U.S. will be the clear jobs losers as improvements in telecommunications and imaging technologies accelerate the movement offshore of data entry. The urban-anchored firms in this industry are increasingly specialized and provide unique products designed in conjunction with clients. One implication is that these firms will remain located near urban markets and use higher-skilled labor. These activities will not filter down to rural economies.