A sustainable governance model to prevent corporate corruption: Integrating anticorruption practices,corporate strategy and business processes

Our paper investigates the integration of anticorruption practices, corporate strategy and business processes of contemporary organisations to provide a new and emerging sustainable governance model. Using the single case study approach to answer our research question, we provide novel evidence from the analysis of the Italian manufacturing company Acciai Speciali Terni Spa. Our case study interprets a consolidated entrepreneurial experience, constructing an integrated meta‐management framework of anticorruption practices. Enriching existing literature, we have adopted the frameworks by Asif et al., (2010) and Asif et al., (2011) to test results and obtain general perspectives and practical implications for organisations, regulators and governments, proposing a sustainable governance model to prevent corruption and bribery.     

Public–Private Partnerships for Biosecurity: An Opportunity for Risk Sharing

Private efforts to prevent and control biological pests and infectious diseases can be a public good, and so incentivising private biosecurity management actions is both desirable and problematic. Compensation contracts can encourage biosecurity efforts, provide support against the collapse of economic sectors, and create an insurance network. We conceptualise a novel biosecurity instrument relying on formal compensation private–public partnerships using contract theory. Our framework explains how the public sector can harness increased private biosecurity measures by making payments to agents which depend both on their performance and that of the other stakeholders. Doing so allows the government to spread the risk across signatory agents. The framework also improves our understanding of government involvement due to public effects of biosecurity, influenced by the private agents’ capacity to derive private benefit from their own efforts on monitoring and control. Lastly, these theoretical results provide a foundation for further study of contractual responsibility sharing for pest management.     

Choice of acquisition form in Australia and the post‐takeover employment of target firm directors on the acquiring firm board

In Australia, a corporate acquisition can be structured as either a scheme of arrangement or a takeover. We investigate the association between deal structure and the retention of target directors on the merged entity board. We find that the odds of a target director subsequently sitting on the merged entity's board are significantly higher in schemes. The results also show that premiums are lower in schemes of arrangement when additional target directors are appointed to the board of the acquiring firm. The findings indicate that target director appointment is unrelated to the merged entity's post‐acquisition performance.     

Preference for Landings’ Smoothing and Risk of Collapse in Optimal Fishery Policies: The Ibero-Atlantic Sardine Fishery

Several world fish stocks are being explored at unsustainable levels and require management plans to rebuild stock abundance. Defining a management plan is, however, a complex task that entails multidisciplinary work. In fact, while it requires solid scientific knowledge of fish stocks, the inclusion of economic and social objectives is crucial to a successful management implementation. In this paper we develop an age-structured bioeconomic model where the objective function is modified to accommodate preferences from different stakeholders. In particular, we consider important characteristics that a management plan should take into account: profit maximization, fishermen’s preference for reducing landings’ fluctuations and risk of fishery collapse. Modeling preferences for reducing landings’ fluctuations is accomplished by defining a utility function with aversion to intertemporal income fluctuations. Building upon biology literature, we model precautionary concerns by incorporating a probability of collapse that depends on current spawning biomass. We illustrate how this framework is able to assist in the analysis and design of harvest control rules applying it to the Ibero-Atlantic sardine stock.     

Mainstreaming Green Product Innovation: Why and How Companies Integrate Environmental Sustainability

Green product innovation has been recognized as one of the key factors to achieve growth, environmental sustainability, and a better quality of life. Understanding green product innovation as a result of interaction between innovation and sustainability has become a strategic priority for theory and practice. This article investigates green product innovation by means of a multiple case study analysis of 12 small to medium size manufacturing companies based in Italy and Canada. First, we propose a conceptual framework that presents three key environmental dimensions of green product innovation such as energy minimization, materials reduction, and pollution prevention as identified in the life cycle phases of products. Based on insights gained from in-depth interviews, we discuss firms’ motivations to develop green products, environmental policies and targets for products, different dimensions of green product innovation, and challenges faced during developing and marketing of green products. Results from the study are then synthesized and integrated in a toolbox that sheds light on various aspects of green product innovation and provides solutions to challenges and risks that are faced by firms. Finally, implications for managers, academia and public policy makers are discussed.     

Narratives of technology consumption in the face of marketplace discrimination

This study presents a phenomenological inquiry into the lived experiences of discriminated consumers to understand how they liberate themselves from offline marketplace discrimination. We explore the critical role that information technology plays to facilitate this process, revealing how discriminated consumers use technology to prepare for battle offline, temporarily seek refuge online, and withdraw permanently online. Our findings have implications to the technology consumption literature by highlighting how discriminated consumers may adopt technological consumption practices that allow them to successfully navigate the marketplace.     

Beyond rational behaviour: the non-financial variables that condition shareholder action during a takeover

This article provides experimental evidence that bidder and target shareholders of a takeover announcement exhibit differences in their actions explained by individual traits and by the environment in which investors must decide. These variables should be considered when designing an adequate investor protection policy. Before the crisis, investor protection regulation was based on the rational behaviour hypothesis and characterized by an overreliance on disclosure and financial literacy strategies. However, the new European policy on financial services has acknowledged the lack of adequate protection, and has increased transparency and access to information for investors in MIFID II and MiFIR.     

Port traffic risks – A study of accidents in Hong Kong waters

This paper investigates port traffic risk issues by discussing historic accidents in Hong Kong port. A total of 2012 marine accidents with 94 deaths were reported in Hong Kong waters in year 2001–2005, while 660,427 oceanic ships visited the port. A negative binomial regression model is used to analyze the record of dataset. It is found that port traffic risks are of certain pattern and collision accidents are the most popular incidents when port traffic is heavy. Passenger-type vessels have higher potential for injuries during accidents. The findings have identified statistically significant factors for improvements in managing port traffic risks.     

Exploring the Networking Characteristics of New Venture Founding Teams: A Stdy of Italian Academic Spin-off

This paper deals with newly established ventures and their relations with external agents. The founding teams' intention to set up relations with external agents and their frequency of interaction with external agents are addressed as two features that are likely to lead to the success of academic spin-off companies. Empirical analysis is based on a data set of 40 Italian academic spin-offs. The external agents who are most likely to have interactions with academic spin-off companies are first identified. Two research hypotheses are then put forward: (a) that the intention of the founding teams to set up relations with external agents is influenced by the degree of articulation of roles and the completeness of the founding teams; (b) that the founding teams' frequency of interaction with external agents is influenced by the frequency of interaction with external agents of the research groups of origin and by their scientific and technological excellence. Some remarks are then made on the role that universities play in helping new ventures to set up relations with external agents.