A typology of small- and medium-sized supplier approaches to social responsibility

Research on socially responsible supply chains has tended to define suppliers over-simplistically as either responsible or irresponsible. This paper illuminates the varied roles of broadly socially responsible small and medium sized enterprises by seeking to discern the differences and highlight the heterogeneity of the approaches taken. Distinguishing our approach from extant corporate social responsibility categorisations, a typology is outlined, drawing on Jungian Theory of Extraversion and the strategic capability of smaller firms. The analysis suggests four groupings of socially responsible small and medium enterprise supplier: strategic engager; strategic contemplator; active connector and active reflector. Overall, the paper seeks to inject nuance into discussions regarding supplier social responsibility practices, adding to the small business social responsibility literature, as well as unifying a number of strands of research relating to supply chain responsibility. The proposed typology offers firm foundations for further empirical and conceptual research in the area.     

When Do State-Owned Firms Crowd Out Private Investment?

This paper examines the conditions under which a state-owned firm with a political agenda strategically crowds out investment by a private firm. Employing reduced-form analysis, we show that strategic crowding out occurs if (i) the private firm regards investments as strategic substitutes, and (ii) private investment is undesirable from the state-owned firm’s perspective. We discuss how our analysis applies to real-world markets and argue that it provides an explanation for the ambivalent evidence on the effect of public on private investment: State ownership is neither necessary nor sufficient for crowding out to occur.     

European Parliament elections in times of crisis

In May 2014, EU citizens will vote in the most important European Parliament elections to date. With the new powers allocated to it by the Lisbon Treaty, the new European Parliament will shape EU policies in many important areas and will elect the President of the Commission. However, public confi dence in the EU has fallen to historically low levels — to a great extent due to the fi nancial crisis and its aftermath — and the participation rate in European Parliament elections has dropped steadily since the fi rst call for a direct vote in 1979. This raises fundamental questions about its political and democratic legitimacy. This Forum examines the economic agendas of the main political parties vying for power and the potential outcome of the May elections, including the role that radical and anti-euro parties are likely to play in the campaign and in the next Parliament.     

Culture as grand theory in East Asian employment relations

Considerable emphasis has often been placed on cultural factors in explaining the peculiarities of East Asian employment relations. By comparison with workplace relations in the West, East Asian employment relations are characterized by low rates of unionization and collective bargaining, and a relative absence of industrial disputation. A critique of notions of culture found in employment-relations scholarship is presented which draws on long-established conceptualizations developed in historical, post-colonial, anthropological and cultural studies. Most of the peculiarities of East Asian workplace relations can be adequately accounted for through manners other than invoking a grand theory of culture.     

The Relationship between Family Firms and Corporate Governance*

This paper contributes to the agency theory literature by identifying relations between family control and corporate governance structure. Emerging literature supports the notion that family control creates strong incentives that have potentially competing influences on the manner in, and extent to, which internal corporate governance mechanisms are utilized. A sample of 100 listed companies (evenly divided between family and nonfamily firms) is used to test the hypotheses that corporate governance structures are different between family and nonfamily firms; and that family firms adopt optimal corporate governance structures. This research finds evidence that suggests that family firms utilize substantially different corporate governance structures from nonfamily firms and that these differences lead to performance differentials. Indeed, results suggest that family control creates, rather than negates, agency costs and future research may be well rewarded by pursuing this latter notion further.     

Ökonomische Aspekte der Energiepolitik

Die in der ersten Jahresh?lfte 2006 sprunghaft gestiegenen Energiepreise haben die Abh?ngigkeit der Weltwirtschaft vom Roh?lpreis in Erinnerung gerufen. Die Weltwirtschaft kann aber auch von den Auswirkungen des Klimawandels betroffen werden. Wie sieht es mit der Energieversorgung und der Energiesicherheit in Deutschland aus? Wodurch steigen die Energiepreise? Welche ?konomischen Auswirkungen hat der Klimawandel? Ist der Emissionshandel in der EU und die F?rderung der erneuerbaren Energien in Deutschland auch unter ?konomischen Aspekten zu rechtfertigen? Prof. Dr. Karl Heinz Hausner, 37, lehrt Volkswirtschaftslehre an der Fachhochschule des Bundes für ?ffentliche Verwaltung in Mannheim und ist Lehrbeauftragter an der Hochschule für Bankwirtschaft, Frankfurt am Main; Prof. Dr. Silvia Simon, 35, lehrt Volkswirtschaftslehre an der Hochschule M?nchengladbach und ist Forschungsbeauftragte am Liechtenstein Institut, Fürstentum Liechtenstein.     

How Do Chinese Firms Deal with Inter-Organizational Conflict?

Based on social exchange and customer relationship marketing theory, this study examines how ethical leadership contributes to inter-organizational conflict management (task conflict (TC) and relationship conflict), and the moderating role of task interdependence in these relationships. Data was collected from 81 suppliers and 45 corresponding managers of a large group company in China. Results show that ethical leadership is negatively associated with the levels of inter-organizational conflict, whether task or relationship. Task interdependence significantly moderates the relationship between ethical leadership and TC. Managerial implication in terms of creating sound buyer–supplier relationship through an ethical perspective is discussed.     

National burden of road traffic injuries in Argentina

More than 1.2 million people die and as many as 50 million people are injured or disabled due to road traffic injuries (RTIs) every year worldwide. The lack of reliable data hinders efforts to describe the characteristics of the issue and prioritise prevention activities. The objective was to provide a snapshot of fatal and non-fatal RTI in Argentina. We used the methodology proposed by the Global Burden of Disease Injury Expert group. External causes of deaths with unknown codes were proportionately redistributed over the known categories. In 2007 in Argentina, we estimated 5915 RTI deaths, compared with 3983 RTI deaths reported previously by the Ministry of Health, accounting for 1931 additional cases. The highest number of deaths occurred in young men (15-29 years old), although the highest RTI death rates were in the age group of 55 years and older. Four-wheeled vehicle occupants were the most common road user type killed (59.1%); vulnerable road users represented one third (29.5%) of deaths and 64% of non-fatal RTI. The national and regional estimates of RTI in Argentina should help policy makers and public-health researchers to understand the importance of RTI prevention and design specific interventions to further reduce these preventable deaths and injuries.