On the relation between corporate governance compliance and operating performance

Better corporate performance has been cited as one of the main benefits of adopting good corporate governance structures within organisations. However, in contrast to theory, a prior European study (Bauer et al., 2004) reports evidence of a negative relationship between corporate governance and corporate performance. This study re‐examines this relationship, and reports evidence of a positive relationship between the extent of compliance with international best practices concerning board structure and functioning and operating performance when operating performance is measured by the return on assets (ROA). This result is robust to controlling for the firms’ compliance with best practices in other governance areas, and holds for some other governance dimensions, namely disclosure of corporate governance and the range of takeover defences. Further tests indicate that greater compliance with international best practices concerning board structure and functioning is significantly associated with reporting less income from asset disposals and that studying a performance measure that includes this item obscures the inherently positive relationship between operating performance and the extent of compliance with international best practices regarding board structure and functioning. The results provide some support for an oftencited motivation for the adoption of good governance practices, and provide explicit evidence that the measure of operating performance is crucial in examining firm‐level operating performance.     

Performance implications of delayed competitive responses: evidence from the U.S. retail industry

The timing of competitive actions and responses is a key management concern that has important performance consequences. This study focuses on the timing and consequences of competitive responses. Theory predicts a negative linear relationship between response delay and responder performance mirrored by an opposing positive linear relationship between response delay and first mover performance. In contrast, our study suggests that response delay has a curvilinear relationship with responder performance, and a linear relationship with first mover performance. We test our propositions using retail industry data and discuss the implications. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

重建更有效的网络

任何经销商网络的重组必须采用整合型举措，治标不治本的单项举措无法产生持久的效果.     

POWER AGAINST PEOPLE: A CHRISTIAN CRITIQUE OF THE STATE

This article, based on the author's IEA web publication of the same name, challenges the widespread view that government is the best vehicle for achieving positive social change. Rather it argues that the over-mighty state has always been the chief cause of oppression, poverty and war throughout the world.     

The train drivers' strike in Germany 2007–2008: warnings for the future of the German trade union movement?

The authors review the strike that took place during 2007–08 that was called by the oldest existing German trade union, the professional union of train drivers Gewerkschaft Deutscher Lokführer (GDL). In so doing, the outcome of the strike is analysed, together with the dynamics of relationship between the GDL, the industrial union TRANSNET, the Gewerkschaft der Bahnbeamten und Anwärter (DBDA), the union of the civil servants employed by the German railway, and the railway company Deutsche Bahn (DB AG). These relationships are examined as paradigmatic of politics of a particularistic organisation like GDL and for politics of an encompassing organisation like TRANSNET. These relationships raise the question: would the growth of professional unions in Germany lead to an erosion of the German system of industrial relations, which currently is still relatively stable due to the predominance of encompassing industrial unions?     

Does source affect response to direct advocacy print advertisements?

This posttest-only experiment examined how source attribution and the personality characteristic of fatalism affect evaluate and behavioral intention responses to direct advocacy print advertisements. Two commercial sources, a noncommercial source, and no source were manipulated in an identical print advocacy ad. Regression analysis revealed that subjects exposed to the two commercial source treatments evaluated the ad more negatively than subjects exposed to the noncommercial and no source treatments. The commercial and trade association source treatments also produced a negative intent to respond to the advocated request. Fatalism was found to be significantly related to behavioral intention, but not the message evaluation. Overall, the results indicate that commercial sponsors should employ direct advocacy print advertisements with the knowledge that their commercial identification elicits critical and negative responses from uncommitted audience members.     

Formal business networking and SME growth

This paper provides new empirical evidence on the impact of formal business networking on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) growth. Using a large, unbalanced panel data set of Flemish SMEs over the period 1992–2008, we examine whether participation in a government-supported program aimed at providing small business managers with structured formal networking contacts is associated with SME growth. Our results suggest that formal business networking is significantly positively correlated with net asset and added value growth.     

Microeconomic determinants of acquisitions of Eastern European banks by Western European banks1

A considerable number of Western European banks acquired banks in Central and Eastern Europe from the mid‐1990s onwards. The question is whether or not this will improve the efficiency and profitability of the Central and Eastern European banking sectors. We test the relative strength of the efficiency versus the market power hypotheses by investigating the bank‐specific characteristics of the banks involved in the cross‐border acquisitions. We also examine the determinants of the post‐acquisition target banks’ performance. Our results indicate that large Western European banks have targeted relatively large and efficient Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) banks with an established presence in their local retail banking markets. We find no evidence that cross‐border bank acquisitions in the CEEC are driven by efficiency motivations. The evidence supports the market power hypothesis, raising concerns about the optimal balance between foreign ownership and competition.     

Interceptability of telecommunications: Is US and Dutch law prepared for the future?

For many decades, governments have successfully intercepted telecommunications to collect information about—potential—criminals and terrorists. A crucial part of contemporary policy is legislation that requires telecommunications providers to make their networks and services interceptable. This paper discusses two examples of interceptability legislation: the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) in the US and the Telecommunications Act in the Netherlands, in order to focus on basic questions, considerations, and trade-offs relevant to designing legal interceptability laws.     

Does the stock market value bank diversification?

This paper investigates whether or not functionally diversified banks have a comparative advantage in terms of long-term performance/risk profile compared to their specialized competitors. To that end, this study uses market-based measures of return potential and bank risk. We calculate the franchise value over time of European banks as a measure of their long-run performance potential. In addition, we measure risk as both the systematic and the idiosyncratic risk components derived from a bank stock return model. Finally, we analyze the return/risk trade-off implied in different functional diversification strategies using a panel data analysis over the period 1989–2004. A higher share of non-interest income in total income affects banks’ franchise values positively. Diversification of revenue streams from distinct financial activities increases the systematic risk of banks while the effect on the idiosyncratic risk component is non-linear and predominantly downward-sloping. These findings have conflicting implications for different stakeholders, such as investors, bank shareholders, bank managers and bank supervisors.