Firm age and liquidity ratio as predictors of firm growth: evidence from Indian firms

The result of the study shows that liquidity ratio and firm age increases the probability of firm becoming high growth or low growth. However, the result indicates that the chances of being high-growth firm are higher for young firms. Quantile results show that the coefficient of liquidity ratio switches from negative in lower quantiles to become positive in upper quantile with the strong positive effect and firm age coefficients are largest in the lower quantiles. These results also confirm the probit result as per which firm age is negatively significant with the growth of the firm. The present study considers an innovative approach that considers balance sheet issued the year prior to the observation of rapid growth as predictors of firm growth (similar to the credit scoring models, i.e. the Z-score model, to measure the probability of default).     

Resource-based local development and networked core-competencies for tourism excellence

The purpose of this article is to propose a complementary approach to the analysis of tourism systems which is grounded on theoretical frameworks deriving from the fields of dynamic capabilities and destination management. In particular, the paper explores the relationship between the networking approach of tourism firms and the development of tourism core-competencies. This perspective aims at providing a development path for policy maker actions based on the appraisal of local resources and tourism competencies. The empirical section studies an Italian area characterized by a high potential in terms of tourism resources but also, especially in the past, a medium-low relevance regarding the tourism economy. However, recently this area has shown a very interesting entrepreneurial dynamicity in tourism and cultural sectors. It is an appropriate field of research for the analysis regarding the determinants of tourism core-competence development.     

Corporate culture and IPOs

This study documents corporate culture at the time of initial public offering (IPO) and the relationship between corporate culture at the time of IPO and firm financial performance. Based on a sample of 1157 US firms that went public between 1996 and 2011 and performance information through 2016, the data provide strong evidence that regional culture, industry characteristics, and pre-IPO financing play key roles in explaining a firm's cultural orientation. Moreover, the data indicate that IPO firms with a highly competition- and creation-oriented culture experience higher profitability and less risk of financial distress than other IPO firms.     

INTIMIDATION: LINKING NEGOTIATION AND CONFLICT

A challenger wants a resource initially held by a defender, who can negotiate a settlement by offering to share the resource. If Challenger rejects, conflict ensues. During conflict, each player could be a tough type for whom fighting is costless. Therefore, nonconcession intimidates the opponent into conceding. Unlike in models where negotiations happen in the shadow of exogenously specified conflicts, offers made during negotiations determine how conflict unfolds if negotiations fail. In turn, how conflict is expected to unfold determines the players' negotiating positions. In equilibrium, negotiations always fail with positive probability, even if players face a high cost of conflict. Allowing multiple offers leads to brinkmanship—the only acceptable offer is the one made when conflict is imminent. If negotiations fail, conflict is prolonged and not duration dependent.     

Can school centralization foster human capital accumulation? A quasi-experiment from early twentieth-century Italy

This article shows that a shift towards a more centralized school system can benefit countries that are characterized by poor levels of human capital and large regional disparities in education. In 1911, Italy moved from a fully decentralized primary school system towards centralization through the Daneo-Credaro Reform. The design of the Reform allows us to compare treated municipalities with those that retained school autonomy. Our quasi-experiment, based on propensity score matching (PSM), shows that centralization substantially increased the pace of human capital accumulation. Treated municipalities were characterized by a 0.43 percentage-point premium on the average annual growth of literacy between 1911 and 1921. We discuss some of the channels through which the new legislation affected primary schooling and literacy, with important implications for long-term economic growth.     

Terrorism as an external threat factor in global value chains

Global terrorism incidents and business‐related threats have intensified in scale and scope over the past 17 years. Multinational corporations are thus exposed to direct and indirect negative impacts on their international activities. Previous research lacks thorough theoretical frameworks to analyze these impacts. The global value chain (GVC) framework offers a perspective that is both comprehensive and quantifiable for the evaluation and expansion of this prior research. The GVC enables us to assess terrorism impacts on international business overall and at each stage of the value chain. On this basis, we develop a “terrorism resilience theory”) that can be used in future theoretical and managerial analyses of the response to terrorism risk.     

SOFT INFORMATION PRODUCTION IN SME LENDING

We analyze the determinants of soft information production on bank clients assuming that this information is collected through close contact with borrowers. After classifying contacts based on the initiator and the location of the lender–borrower meetings, we find that banks have more direct contact with firms characterized by low risk and low use of their banking products, indicating that there may also be commercial reasons for such contact. Our findings suggest that the production of soft information may follow a quality selection process in which banks prefer to strengthen relationships with clients characterized by low risk and low use of their products. We provide additional evidence of the role of soft information in ongoing interactions between banks and borrowers. Banks that initiate contacts at the firm location result in future lower risk, lower spreads, and increased product sales.     

Herding effects in order driven markets: The rise and fall of gurus

We introduce an order driver market model with heterogeneous traders that imitate each other on a dynamic network structure. The communication structure evolves endogenously via a fitness mechanism based on agents performance. We assess under which assumptions imitation, among noise traders, can give rise to the emergence of gurus and their rise and fall in popularity over time. We study the wealth distribution of gurus, followers and non followers and show that traders have an incentive to imitate and a desire to be imitated since herding turns out to be profitable. The model is then used to study the effect that different competitive strategies (i.e. chartist & fundamentalist) have on agents performance. Our findings show that positive intelligence agents cannot invade a market populated by noise traders when herding is high.     

Strategiewechsel für eine nachhaltige Entwicklung – Möglichkeiten und Grenzen

Corporate activities and strategic decisions cause several ecological and social problems. However, companies also develop solutions, products and services to face these problems and to create social and ecological development proactively. Against the background of the far-reaching economical and societal change we need sustainable development. Implementing sustainable requirements in corporations necessitates strategic change. Thus, the question arises which influencing factors initiate pro-active or intensive sustainable strategic changes. This question will be addressed on the basis of an empirical analysis of three companies in the business fields chemistry, recycling and information & communication. The study examines the internal (organisational, cultural) and external conditions for pro-active and intensive corporate strategic change. It can be shown that there are various, but different patterns to initiate sustainable strategic changes. The findings highlight the role of visions and options, the companies’ interactions, the role of change agents and management as well as their values and norms, the companies’ history, and the history of business fields.