Stochastic evolution equations in Banach spaces and applications to the Heath–Jarrow–Morton–Musiela equations

The aim of this paper is threefold. Firstly, we study stochastic evolution equations (with the linear part of the drift being a generator of a \(C_{0}\)-semigroup) driven by an infinite-dimensional cylindrical Wiener process. In particular, we prove, under some sufficient conditions on the coefficients, the existence and uniqueness of solutions for these stochastic evolution equations in a class of Banach spaces satisfying the so-called \(H\)-condition. Moreover, we analyse the Markov property of the solutions.Secondly, we apply the abstract results obtained in the first part to prove the existence and uniqueness of solutions to the Heath–Jarrow–Morton–Musiela (HJMM) equations in weighted Lebesgue and Sobolev spaces.Finally, we study the ergodic properties of the solutions to the HJMM equations. In particular, we find a sufficient condition for the existence and uniqueness of invariant measures for the Markov semigroup associated to the HJMM equations (when the coefficients are time-independent) in the weighted Lebesgue spaces.Our paper is a modest contribution to the theory of financial models in which the short rate can be undefined.     

Micromultinationals: Some Preliminary Evidence on an Emergent ‘Star’ of the International Entrepreneurship Field

This paper provides some preliminary evidence on the behaviour of the micromultinational, an emergent player in the international entrepreneurship field. Using survey data from the Scottish Council for Development and Industry, it found that mMNEs originate from a mixture of high and low technology sectors and employ Foreign Direct Investment as well as international contractual approaches in servicing their foreign target markets. It also concluded that micromultinationals overseas market selection decisions were mainly influenced by market- and knowledge-seeking factors rather than considerations of psychic proximity. The implications of these summary findings for policy, theory and future research are discussed in the paper.     

Crossing the Boundaries of Obligation: Are Corporate Salaries a Form of Bribery?

Trans-National Corporations (TNCs) pay relatively high salaries to local people in host countries. TNCs assume that such employees will accept an employeeÇôemployer relationship similar to that which exists in North America, but the obligations and personal interests that such a relationship create often directly conflict with systems of obligation already established in the host country. When TNCs do business across the boundaries of systems of obligation, corporate salaries can be seen as a form of unethical bribery. In this paper, the core case of business bribery is described consistent with the usual philosophical analysis of bribery, and the grounds for thinking bribery is unethical are made clear. The amount of a bribe is irrelevant to the ethical analysis. Bribery is distinguished from tips and grease on structural grounds. The concept of a system of obligation is defined, and examples given that show the variability of systems of obligation in host countries. Arguments are given to show that salaries paid by TNCs create obligations and personal interests which sometimes conflict with existing systems of obligation, and that such payments have the same structure as more traditional forms of bribery. The ethical issues of corporations crossing the boundaries of systems of obligations are discussed.     

Leaders,Values, and Organizational Climate: Examining Leadership Strategies for Establishing an Organizational Climate Regarding Ethics

This paper examines the critical role that organizational leaders play in establishing a values based climate. We discuss seven mechanisms by which leaders convey the importance of ethical values to members, and establish the expectations regarding ethical conduct that become engrained in the organizations climate. We also suggest that leaders at different organizational levels rely on different mechanisms to transmit values and expectations. These mechanisms then influence members practices and expectations, further increase the salience of ethical values and result in the shared perceptions that form the organizations climate. The paper is organized in three parts. Part onebegins with a brief discussion of climates regarding ethics and the critical role of values. Part two provides discussion on the mechanisms by which leaders and members transmit values and create climates related to ethics. Part three provides a discussion of these concepts with implications for theory, research, and practice.     

Corporate Social Responsibility: Exploring Stakeholder Relationships and Programme Reporting across Leading FTSE Companies

Although it is now widely recognised by business leaders that their companies need to accept a broader responsibility than short-term profits, recent research suggests that as corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social reporting become more widespread, there is little empirical evidence of the range of stakeholders addressed through their CSR programmes and how such programmes are reported. Through a CSR framework which was developed in an exploratory study, we explore the nature of stakeholder relationships reported across leading FTSE companies and the importance they attach to communicating both social and business outcomes. It is evident from the hypotheses tested that the bigger FTSE companies, particularly extraction companies and telecoms, are more adept at identifying and prioritising their stakeholders, and linking CSR programmes to business and social outcomes. However, we draw the general conclusion that building stronger stakeholder relationships through CSR programmes – other than with customers – is not currently a priority for most companies. We also conclude that a limited sophistication in managing multiple stakeholders may compromise the impact of CSR upon business and social results. Finally, the managerial implications and the contribution of our study are discussed before closing with an acknowledgement of the limitations of this work and suggestions for further research.     

Qualitative Insights into the International New Venture Creation Process

This paper adopts a qualitative approach to uncover the experiences of founders of international new ventures or born global firms. The data which are based on in-depth interviews, focus on the major characters, events and surrounding conditions from the time the firm is conceived until it becomes involved with foreign markets. From these data, the major elements contributing to the creation of an international new venture are identified.     

Cultural and Ethical Effects in Budgeting Systems: A Comparison of U.S. and Chinese Managers

This study developed and tested a model of culture’s effect on budgeting systems, and hypothesized that system variables and reactions to them are influenced by culture-specific work-related and ethical values. Most organizational and behavioral views of budgeting fail to acknowledge the ethical components of the problem, and have largely ignored the role of culture in shaping organizational and individual values. Cross-cultural differences in reactions to system design variables, and in the behaviors motivated or mitigated by those variables, has implications for the design and effectiveness of budgeting systems. The data largely support our research model, demonstrating the hypothesized national cultural differences in system design variables (e.g., participation, standards tightness, budget emphasis, etc. which we characterized as the opportunity and incentives to create budgetary slack), and the expected relationship between incentives (but not opportunity) to create slack and slack creation behavior. The data demonstrate hypothesized cultural differences in ethical ideology but show ethical ideology related to slack creation behavior only for U.S. managers. A discussion of the results and their implications is included.     

Supervising the Unethical Selling Behavior of Top Sales Performers: Assessing the Impact of Social Desirability Bias

This study measures social desirability bias (SD bias) by comparing the level of discipline sales managers believe they would administer when supervising unethical selling behavior with the level of discipline they perceive other sales managers would select. Results indicate the presence of SD bias; the sales manager respondents consistently claimed that they would be stricter while their peers would be more lenient. Using an analytical technique that takes social desirability bias into account, it appears that sales managers use of discipline is affected by the sales performance of the salesperson being disciplined resulting in more lenient discipline for top sales performers. In addition, the more lenient treatment for top sales performers persists even when there is a pattern of a prior ethical infraction and the existence of an explicit organizational policy proscribing the act in question. Sales managers believe that, like themselves, others would be stricter when an unethical act is committed for the second time but not as strict as they personally would be. A within-subjects interaction effect indicates more SD bias under the condition of the unethical act being committed for the second time.     

A Network-based Approach on Opportunity Recognition

This paper argues that individuals differ in terms of their perception of opportunities because of the differences between the networks they are embedded in. We focus on two aspects of individuals embeddedness in networks, that is, (1) individuals belonging to residential areas that are more or less likely to be characterized by network cohesion, and (2) individuals differential access to network contacts based on the level of human capital they hold. Our analyses show that the nature of ones residential area influences the perception of entrepreneurial opportunities. Further, we find a positive effect for education, i.e., people with a higher educational level are more likely to perceive entrepreneurial opportunities compared to those with a lower educational level.     

Job Creation by the Self-employed: The Roles of Entrepreneurial and Financial Capital

The paper reports micro-econometric evidence on the factors that influence the ability of the small businesses to create employment. It uses data on self-employment from a British panel survey. In particular it investigates the contributions of financial and entrepreneurial capital to job creation. Housing wealth appears to be significantly associated with small business job creation. It appears to act as an important source of financial collateral. The parental background of the small business owner is also significantly associated with job creation. Successful entrepreneurs are more likely to have had self-employed parents, and in particular parents who employed others. Educational attainment, in particular at degree level, is also important. The preferred model incorporates individual random effects and the significance of these suggests the importance of unobserved latent entrepreneurial ability. The British Household Panel Survey data used in this paper were made available through the ESRC Data Archive. The data were originally collected by the ESRC Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex. Neither the original collector of the data nor the Archive bears any responsibility for the analyses or interpretations presented here. I am grateful to Reza Arabsheibani for helpful comments at a preliminary stage, and to seminar participants at the Welsh Assembly Government, Cardiff.