Free Cash Flow, Golden Parachutes, and the Discipline of Takeover Activity

We conjecture that golden parachutes are initiated when the agency cost of free cash flow is most severe. We examine the relation between golden parachutes and investment levels in firms that have been successfully acquired. Our results support these three conclusions. First, target firms overinvest prior to an acquisition when golden parachutes are present. Second, the acquirers of targets with golden parachutes reduce investment subsequent to the takeover. Third, the reversal in capital investment by the combined firm is correlated with the magnitude of the target's pre-acquisition overinvestment. The latter findings indicate the takeover acts as a disciplining mechanism with the acquirer reversing the target overinvestment subsequent to the acquisition     

What happens to international new ventures beyond start-up: An exploratory study

Since its inception, research in international entrepreneurship has focused mainly on how and why international new ventures internationalize early on. To date, there has been hardly any research regarding the issue of continuing corporate growth in such ventures beyond their start-up phase or initial internationalization. Theoretically, we ground our study within the dynamic capabilities view of the firm and through an inductive theory building research explore how and whether international new ventures made-it beyond the start-up phase, aiming to generate early theoretical constructs to guide international entrepreneurship research in this substantive area. Grounded in data, we develop the following constructs related to made-it points: strategic experimentation, tensions in organizational gestalt, and legitimacy lies. To get to a made-it point, entrepreneurs experiment with their venture at several levels: organizational, business model, and operational. These experimentation efforts are fueled by tensions that exist in the organizational gestalt, such as ownership structure, business proposition to the market, and product development process. To legitimate themselves and their venture in the stakeholders’ eyes, entrepreneurs may tell legitimacy lies. We maintain that international new ventures do not reach a made-it point if they only manage to develop substantive capabilities to produce desired outputs at various levels within the venture but fail to create dynamic capabilities to change and reconfigure existing substantive capabilities.     

Occupational accidents in the Netherlands: incidence,mental harm,and their relationship with psychosocial factors at work

This study investigated the incidence of mental harm due to occupational accidents and the relation between psychosocial factors at work and the occurrence of occupational accidents in the Netherlands for the construction industry and health and welfare sector. Analyses revealed that occupational accidents in the construction industry more often involved physical harm, whereas accidents in the health and welfare sector relatively more often resulted in mental harm, in comparison to other sectors. Results showed that psychosocial factors were associated with occupational accidents in both sectors. For the construction industry, high time pressure and exposure to violence and harassment by colleagues or supervisors were associated with occupational accidents. For the health and welfare sector, low autonomy and exposure to violence and harassment by colleagues or supervisors or by people outside the organization were associated with occupational accidents. The present paper stresses the importance of also taking psychological consequences and psychosocial factors at work into account in assessing the occurrence of occupational accidents.     

How Industries Evolve

Firms can improve their performance by tailoring investments to ride industry trends rather than to fight them. This article sheds light on how. It argues that better corporate performance hinges on understanding how industries evolve and that the main frameworks currently in use (the five forces and the S-curve/product life cycle models) are incomplete for this purpose. Building on an extensive body of fieldwork and statistical research, the author identifies four basic models of industry evolution which she calls 'receptive', 'blockbuster', 'radical organic', and 'intermediating'. Each kind of evolution involves specific kinds of risks, and each carries different implications for the relevance of established capabilities and investment priorities.     

Nutrition knowledge of caterers and constraints to offering more healthy meals

The study determined whether school and workplace caterers in the South East of England have the necessary knowledge to provide more healthy meals, and the constraints preventing them offering them. Results indicated that most caterers knew about current nutritional guidelines and sources of nutrients, and thus should be able to produce healthy meal choices. Most caterers believed that certain foods could be prepared successfully using alternative ingredients or cooking methods. The main constraints to offering more healthy options were taste, cost and what customers wanted. The main changes that had been made were the use of reduced-fat ingredients and cooking practices aimed at reducing the fat content of dishes.     

What drives customers toward proximity payment services? An integrated theory of planned behavior perspective

Proximity mobile payment (PMP) services facilitate mobile payments between payer and payee who are at same location thorough a proximity technology such as QR codes, Bluetooth, and near-field communication. It has potential to drastically change consumers' payment methods in developing countries where traditional finance infrastructure is lacking. However, there are various challenges to adopting PMP in such countries. This study aims to explore users' opinions on and motivations for using PMP by proposing an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) model. It also seeks to resolve inconsistencies in PMP adoption studies regarding the role of user's trust in PMP services. A survey instrument was used to collect data from PMP users in a developing country. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. This study highlights trust as a mitigator of the negative effect induced by the perceived risk of using PMP services. It also validates that the TPB, coupled with other contextual factors, explains the adoption of PMP services in developing countries.     

Pay progression in routinised service sector work: navigating the internal labour market in a fast food multinational company

The United Kingdom's widespread use of low-skill, low-paid employment has been well documented. It has been argued internal labour markets (ILMs) benefit such workers, affording them with opportunities for progression. Relatively little is known, however, about the impact of ILMs on entry level workers undertaking routinised service sector work. Drawing on qualitative data, this article explores the prospects on offer in a market leading, fast food multinational company. Potential enabling features include on-the-job training, a transparent and integrated pay structure and a professed culture of progression . Occupational movements to positions above the low-pay threshold are, however, relatively rare. We conjecture this contradiction is the result of the business context in which the firm operates. The findings suggest that in sectors where price leadership strategies dominate, escape from low pay is likely to be exceptional, even within large organisations featuring some of the classic characteristics of ‘pure’ or strong ILMs.     

The impact of microfinance on poverty and income inequality in developing countries

Economic growth in developing countries provides an opportunity to accelerate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, in reality, the number of people living in extreme poverty remains unacceptably high. Utilising the experiences of 34 developing countries for the period 2009 to 2016, the role of microfinance on poverty in these countries is examined. The results imply that the degree to which the existing forms of microfinance effectively reduce extreme poverty is less workable in developing countries, particularly when the hardcore poor are likely being deprived of receiving access to microfinance. It is suggested that governments may need to revise the structure and strategy of microfinance to be more hardcore poor oriented. The hardcore poor have needs beyond pure monetary assistance. More hand‐holding types of assistance are needed as most are also poor in respect of literacy, assets, and skills.     

Bubbles,crashes and information contagion in large-group asset market experiments

Experimental Economics - We study the emergence of bubbles in a laboratory experiment with large groups of individuals. The realized price is the aggregation of the forecasts of a group of...     

Creating a healthy working environment with leadership: the concept of health-promoting leadership

In this paper, a concept of health-promoting leadership is presented that focuses on the interaction between working environment and leadership behavior. Seven key aspects define health-promoting leadership: health awareness, low workload, control, reward, community, fairness, and values. The self-assessment version of the questionnaire was used in this study for the first time. Analyzing the data of 299 leaders, the results showed satisfactory reliability and validity coefficients for all dimensions. Structural equation modeling indicates that all dimensions can be assigned on a main factor of health-promoting leadership. The questionnaire offers two main advantages: first, it is possible to measure health-promoting behavior strategies of leaders and thus show their leadership potential. Second, the instrument allows analyzing critical aspects in the working environment and further helps establish basic conditions in the workplace, where a health-promoting workplace can be created.