Effects of performance measurement system inconsistency on managers’ role clarity and well-being

In this paper we explore the impact of PMS inconsistency on managerial role clarity and well-being. In addition, we investigate if problems with PMS inconsistency can be dealt with by convincing superiors to loosen their control reactions to variances, giving managers job autonomy and providing managers with support from superiors, peers and staff functions. Based on survey responses from 799 managers in one public sector organization and 187 managers in one private sector organization we conclude that PMS inconsistency has negative effects on managers’ role clarity and well-being. This situation does not improve if superiors practice loose control; on the contrary, it seems to make managers’ work situation worse. Job autonomy and support appear to be better coping methods since they have direct positive impacts on managers’ role clarity and well-being that counteracts the negative effects of PMS inconsistency.     

Farm Level Effects of On-Farm Irrigation Infrastructure Programs in the Southern Murray–Darling Basin

On-farm irrigation infrastructure programs have become an important method of recovering water for the environment in the Australian Murray–Darling Basin (MDB). These programs offer farmers funding to upgrade infrastructure in return for a portion of their water rights. This study measures the effects of Australian Government on-farm infrastructure programs in the southern MDB between 2009–2010 and 2016–2017, particularly the On-Farm Irrigation Efficiency Program. A novel dataset is constructed combining program administrative data with farm survey data. This data is used to derive econometric estimates on the effects of these programs on various measures of farm productivity, profitability and water demand. On-farm programs are found to have positive effects for participants in terms of higher farm productivity and profitability. However, the study also finds a Jevon's paradox outcome, where farm demand for water is significantly higher post-upgrade.     

The rise and decline of industrial foundations as controlling owners of Swedish listed firms: the role of tax incentives

ABSTRACT

Beginning in the interwar period, industrial foundations became a vehicle for corporate control of large listed firms in Sweden. In the 1990s they were replaced by wealthy individuals who either directly own controlling blocks or who own them through holding companies. We study potential explanations for this change and propose two tax-related candidates: shifts in the relative effective taxation across owner types and the dismantling of inheritance taxation that prevented the generational transfer of the ownership of large controlling blocks. We exploit newly computed marginal effective capital income tax rates across capital owners, accounting for all relevant factors, including rules governing tax exemptions. We show that the 1990–91 tax reform, abolition of the wealth tax for controlling owners in 1997, 2003 tax exemption of dividends and capital gains on listed stock for holding companies with a voting or equity share of at least 10 percent, and abolition of the inheritance and gift taxes in 2004 reversed the rules of the game. Recently, control has largely been wielded through direct ownership, and the role of foundations is rapidly declining. These findings point to the importance of tax incentives for the use of foundations as the control vehicle of listed firms.     

The economics of the Swedish online gambling market

In this article, we study how the Swedish online gambling market has developed and how the availability of foreign-based online gambling has affected the domestic state-owned gambling monopoly, AB Svenska Spel. We find that online gambling and the traditional state-managed gambling are relatively weak substitutes. Thus, concerns about the availability of online gambling being able to undercut domestic gambling policies may be overstated.     

Management control in public sector Joint Ventures

Cooperation among public sector organizations (PSOs) is increasingly important in the management of resources in welfare systems. A Joint Venture (JV) is an organization form that enables PSOs to cooperate with each other in order to achieve economies of scale. However, JVs contain interrelated horizontal and vertical control relationships (between the owners and between the owners and the JV Company) that complicate their control. The first aim of this paper is to map the dynamics in vertical and horizontal control packages in municipal JVs and to describe the relational factors that affect them. Based on three case studies we conclude that vertical control packages are affected by: goodwill trust and competence trust; parent differences in management style and size in combination with control competence; parent diversification (low relatedness between the JV's activity and the parents’ other activities); and the horizontal control package (e.g., rules for parent interaction and distribution of work). Horizontal control packages are affected by: goodwill trust, system trust and calculative trust; parent differences in size; and efforts to achieve equality. The second aim of the paper is to contribute to the discussion on the relationship between trust and control. We observed that trust is potentially unaffected by the introduction of formal controls. We also found that trust has an inverted “crowding out” effect on control. A high ambition to maintain trust leads to underdeveloped formal controls. In addition, we found that the ambition to preserve trust may inhibit the realisation of economies of scale.     

Trend model testing of growth convergence in 15 OECD countries, 1946-1997

A framework based on a linear deterministic trend function is introduced in order to model growth convergence. The approach is a practical solution to the nonlinearity and nonstationarity found in the convergence of output-per-capita gaps between the USA and 14 OECD countries in 1946–1997. Convergence is found to be a typical feature of European OECD countries and Japan, but for some major countries it altered since the beginning of 1980. Some evidence of divergence exists too. Valid statistical inference on trend-growth estimates is based on sample-size standardized t - and Wald-test statistics, since the model residuals are close to I(1). Small-sample test values are derived using bootstrap methods.     

Investment and Uncertainty: A Theory‐based Empirical Approach*

This paper provides empirical evidence on the dynamic effects of uncertainty on firm‐level capital accumulation. A novelty in this paper is that the firm‐level uncertainty indicator is motivated and derived from a theoretical model, the neoclassical investment model with time to build. This model also serves as the base for the empirical work, where an error‐correction approach is employed. I find a negative effect of uncertainty on capital accumulation, both in the short run and the long run. This outcome cannot be explained by the model alone. Instead, the results suggest that the predominant mechanism at work stems from irreversibility constraints.     

The Story-lines of Technological Change: Innovation, Construction and Appropriation

The paper contrasts three story-lines of technological change, which represent three different ways to think about technology as a social process. Each story-line, or discourse, or narrative strategy, has its own special terminology and is derived from particular academic fields and intellectual traditions. And each has different ways of considering the forms of social agency that are relevant in relation to technological change. For the story-line of innovation, the relevant agents are the producers of commercial products, often referred to as systems of innovation; for the story-line of construction, agency is conceptualized as those particular actors that have an interest in a particular artifact and its promulgation. For the story-line of appropriation, the social agency is differentiated into various user communities. When we analyze the relations between technology and society, it is important to know which kind of story we are telling and which story-line, or narrative strategy we are following.     

Corporate Governance Scoring Systems: What Do They Tell Us?

The failure of companies such as Enron in the United States, and One. Tel and HIH in Australia, and the collapse of Arthur Andersen have created a worldwide debate on the importance of good corporate governance practices. A number of accounting and consulting firms and rating agencies have responded to the debate by developing corporate governance scoring systems (CGSS). In this paper we seek evidence of whether CGSS convey any information about the financial characteristics and performance of companies. We find no evidence of any significant relationship between the corporate governance score and financial performance. However, we find a direct relationship between a firm's size and its corporate governance score.