Lutz M. Hagen,Technische Universität Dresden

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Corporate Governance and Expected Stock Returns: Evidence from Germany

Recent empirical work shows evidence for higher valuation of firms in countries with a better legal environment. We investigate whether differences in the quality of firm‐level corporate governance also help to explain firm performance in a cross‐section of companies within a single jurisdiction. Constructing a broad corporate governance rating (CGR) for German public firms, we document a positive relationship between governance practices and firm valuation. There is also evidence that expected stock returns are negatively correlated with firm‐level corporate governance, if dividend yields are used as proxies for the cost of capital. An investment strategy that bought high‐CGR firms and shorted low‐CGR firms earned abnormal returns of around 12% on an annual basis during the sample period.     

Do Overconfident Workers Cooperate Less? The Relationship Between Overconfidence and Cooperation in Team Production

The tendency to underestimate others' relative performance compared with one's own is widespread among individuals in all work environments. We examine the relationship between, and the driving forces behind, individual overconfidence and voluntary cooperation in team production. Our experimental data suggest an indirect and gender‐specific link: overconfident men hold more optimistic beliefs about coworkers' cooperativeness than men who lack confidence and are accordingly significantly more cooperative, whereas overconfidence, beliefs, and cooperativeness are not correlated in women. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Illustrating the Power of fsQCA in Explaining Paradoxical Consumer Environmental Orientations

Prior research on proenvironmental and prosocial behavior focuses primarily on explaining consistent rather than paradoxical tendencies. Even though this field receives wide attention from different scientific disciplines, findings for many causal factors of such proenvironmental orientation are contradictory. Nevertheless, knowing who those individuals are who think and behave in a pro‐/antienvironmental way or show a paradoxical behavior in this regard becomes useful for many different parties in human societies including public policy makers, governmental and nongovernmental environmental protection organizations, and for‐profit firms. Therefore, this study identifies those individuals who show neither consistent proenvironmental nor consistent antienvironmental tendencies as the “walkers‐only” and “talkers‐only” (i.e., for short, “walkers” and “talkers”). The former are defined as persons who put much effort into the recycling of waste materials but do not support pollution standards, whereas the latter term describes individuals who have a strong opinion with regard to the support of pollution standards yet do not engage in recycling efforts. The present study reports evidence of the existence of walkers and talkers. Further, this research is the first study to employ “fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis” to identify the complex antecedent conditions for some individuals’ paradoxical belief–behaviors in the field of socially and environmentally directed behaviors and orientations. The findings yield valuable insights both into the applicability and benefits of configural analysis and for public policy makers and managers in waste management and recycling industries.     

Reviewing systematic literature reviews: ten key questions and criteria for reviewers

Management Review Quarterly - Systematic literature review articles are important for synthesizing knowledge in management and business research. However, to date, we lack clear guidelines how to...     

CO2 Speicherung in Deutschland: Eine Brückentechnologie als Klimalösung?

The technology for CO₂ capture, transport and storage (CCTS) in the power plant and industrial sector are considered as an important component in a portfolio of technologies for CO₂ reduction. However, delayed or canceled demonstration projects show that the cost of the capture unit, the necessary pipeline infrastructure and the scarce storage potential in geological formations restrict the CCTS potential. In addition, growing public resistance could lead a further reduction of the CO₂ abatement potential. In this paper the contribution of the CCTS technology for CO₂ reduction in the energy and industrial sectors in Germany is calculated using the model CCTSMOD. It turns out that the application of CCTS is economically interesting for selected industrial sectors under CO₂ certificate prices of 50 €/t and for the power sector under certificate prices of 75 €/t. Because of the limited storage potential, lack of alternative mitigation options and low cost of the deposition, a predominant use of technology in the steel and cement sector is recommended.     

Economies in Transition: How Important Is Trade Openness for Growth?*

We investigate the effect of trade openness on economic growth in transition countries using a transparent statistical methodology that leads to data‐driven case studies. In particular, we employ synthetic control methods in a panel of transition economies and compare GDP growth in treated (that is, open) countries with growth in a convex combination of similar but untreated (that is, closed) countries. We find that trade liberalization tends to have a positive effect on the pattern of real GDP per capita. One of our most robust results shows that making the transition without opening up to trade considerably hampers growth.     

Surplus liquidity,central bank losses and the use of reserve requirements in emerging markets

Since the turn of the millennium, stocks of foreign reserves held by central banks in many emerging markets and developing countries have exceeded currency in circulation. To steer money market rates, these central banks have been absorbing liquidity from, rather than providing it to, the banking sector in their regular monetary policy operations. When interest rates in countries with major reserve currencies are low, the yield on foreign reserves is low. A higher interest rate on liquidity‐absorbing operations may expose central banks to losses. Although a central bank is not a profit‐maximizing institution, central bank losses can undermine the independence of the central bank. Using data for a large panel of central banks, this paper provides some evidence that central banks tend to apply low‐remunerated reserve requirements when profitability is at stake.     

Der deutsche Telekommunikationsmarkt im europäischen und internationalen Vergleich

According to current discussions, the German and European market for telecommunications is not as competitive as in the US or Asia. This paper shows — based on official data — that Germany has a high availability of broadband internet connections. It is not the availability but the usage that lags behind. Fixed telephone calls as well as broadband internet connections are rather cheap in Germany, but to be prepared for the digitalisation of the economy and society, more investments in infrastructure are needed. Surprisingly the US does have a higher number of network providers than Europe. What is missing in Europe is a provider that covers all countries of the European Union; current EBITDA does not show that the European market is too fragmented to make a profit.