Informal institutions and international entrepreneurship

This study examines the influence of three informal institutions, performance orientation, self-expression and social desirability, on the extent of internationalization by early stage entrepreneurial firms. We employed multi-level modeling techniques using 20,656 individual-level responses obtained from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey for 39 countries from 2001 to 2008, and supplementing with country-level data obtained from the World Values Survey (WVS) and the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) study. The results demonstrate that high performance orientation, high self-expression, and low social desirability of entrepreneurship in societies increase the extent of internationalization by early-stage entrepreneurial firms. The study promotes new theory and empirical findings on the relationship between informal institutions and entrepreneurial agency.     

Unpacking Institutional Distance: Addressing Human Capital Development and Emerging‐Market Firms’ Ownership Strategy in an Advanced Economy

As latecomers to global business competition, emerging‐market multinational companies (EMNCs) utilize cross‐border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) to quickly acquire strategic assets, resulting in an improved competitive position. Advanced markets with well‐established firms and well‐developed market‐supporting institutions become particularly important destinations for EMNCs’ foreign operations. Institutional distance, which represents conflicting legitimacy requirements between the host and home institutional environments, is expected to be negatively associated with the foreign acquirer's ownership position. The current study examines a sample of EMNCs’ cross‐border M&As in the United States between 2005 and 2011 and reveals the unique nature of EMNCs’ ownership strategies. Taking both formal and informal institutions into consideration, our findings suggest that EMNCs originating in countries with lower levels of human capital development may have more urgency in seeking ownership control in advanced markets and are less influenced by the negative association of institutional distance in their ownership strategy. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Quantifying Sources of Risk in Global Food Operations and Supply Chain

The food industry plays a significant role in food supply. However, it is increasingly facing a significant number of risks to tackle. This article provides insight into sources and quantification of risk, which can restrict food operations and supply chain performance. Certainly, risks imposed by today's constantly changing global environment makes it imperative for food and agribusiness firms to develop purposeful proactive and predictive risk management for their global supply chains. We proposed the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model to analyze sources of risks attached to the focal firm's global food operations and supply chain. The identified risks were from a review of relevant literature, expert opinions from the focal firm supply chain C‐level executive, and consultants in the food industry. We grouped the identified risks into seven categories and discussed the risk mitigation strategies. We validated the proposed model using a case study involving a focal food and agribusiness firm with global presence. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

基于遗传算法改进的BP神经网络在我国主要城市人居环境质量评价中的应用

文章试图在已有研究的基础上,综合考虑城市人居环境的内涵,在国内首次将遗传算法全局寻优和BP神经网络局部寻优相结合的改进神经网络模型应用在人居环境评价中,并对中国35个主要城市人居环境质量进行定量判定,揭示城市人居环境现状及各城市在国内人居环境中的相对水平。结果表明该模型取得了令人满意的结果,是一种有效的评价方法。     

农地流转中的非正式制度探讨

以往从制度方面研究农地流转的史料文献,大多忽视了对非正式制度因素的分析。本文主要就我国农村社会经济生活中一些与农地流转密切相关的非正式制度如意识形态中的公有制观念、家庭观念和家族意识、平均主义、集权主义、农本意识及其对农地流转的影响进行了探讨,最后指出：应该在尊重文化传统的基础上,对这些非正式制度消化创新,找到它们与农地制度的契合点,使二者有机相融,协调进行,这样才能从根本上推动农地流转。     

Pitfalls to avoid when measuring institutions: Is Doing Business damaging business?

Over recent years, both governments and international aid organizations have been devoting large amounts of resources to “simplifying” the procedures for setting up and formalizing firms. Many of these actions have focused on reducing the initial costs of setting up the firm, disregarding the more important role of business registers as a source of reliable information for judges, government departments and, above all, other firms. This reliable information is essential for reducing transaction costs in future dealings with all sorts of economic agents, both public and private. The priorities of reform policies should therefore be thoroughly reviewed, stressing the value of the legal institutions rather than trivializing them as is often the case. Journal of Comparative Economics 35 (4) (2007) 729–747.     

Estimating the informal cross-border trade of agricultural and horticultural commodities between cameroon and its CEMAC neighbours

Cameroon is the first trading partner of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) countries. Despite belonging to the same sub-regional organization, the formal trade ties between Cameroon and its neighbours have been hampered by a combination of factors that have spurred the growth of informal (unrecorded) trade. Interest in cross-border trade of agricultural and horticultural commodities between Cameroon and its neighbours has been overwhelming, but knowledge of its magnitude, determinants, and consequences remains inadequate, leading not only to undervaluation of figures in the national accounts, but also inhibiting formulation of appropriate policies and strategies to exploit its potential impact, particularly on food security. Using a monitoring method of cross-border flows of informal trade, the study aims to estimate the volume/value of unrecorded cross-border trade between Cameroon and its CEMAC’s neighbours and compare it with the recorded (official figures) trade. The results indicate that in 2008 a volume of just over 155 000 tons of agricultural and horticultural commodities has been shipped from Cameroon to its neighbours in the CEMAC for an estimated value of almost 38 billion CFA francs and representing 0.4% of GDP in Cameroon. The comparison in relative terms shows that informal or unrecorded trade represents 96% of the official and mainly includes agricultural and horticultural commodities.     

The participation of Russian households in the informal economy: Evidence from the VTsIOM data

This study presents the size and structure of secondary employment in Russia, analyses the determinants of Russian informal secondary employment, and discusses differences between job qualifications in a main job and those in a secondary job. We estimate that 27 percent of Russia’s GDP was produced in the informal economy during 1997–98 and informal secondary employment amounts to about 20 percent of value added produced in the informal economy. We found that the probability of holding an informal secondary job as opposed to a formal one is positively associated with higher wage rates and lower education. However, there is little evidence that low income is correlated with holding an informal secondary job. We also found evidence that an informal secondary job requires lower job qualifications as compared to a formal one. Again, low income is not significant in determining differences between job qualifications in a main job and those in a secondary job. JEL classification: J22, J24, O17, P20.     

Social tie, social capital, and social behavior: Toward an integrative model of informal exchange

What is the unique nature of social capital that differentiates itself from other forms of capital? How should we conceptualize and operationalize social capital? What are the major drivers and outcomes of social capital? To address the three questions, I apply the duality lens—the perspective of regarding each entity as a paradox consisting of two contrasting yet interdependent components—to social capital for an integrative model of informal exchange. The focus of this paper is on the duality relationship between the content variables (social tie, social capital, social behavior along two basic dimensions: trust for tie strength and option for network structure) and the process variables (antecedent, content, process, and consequence) toward a geocentric framework of formal–informal exchange. I intend to make two contributions. First, the conceptualization and operationalization of social capital is developed from the duality lens of formal–informal exchange so as to identify the unique nature of social capital as an informal entity. Second, a holistic, dynamic, and dialectic model of social capital is provided to explore the causal links between various elements related to social capital.     

Jeong exchange and collective leadership in Korean organizations

How does the Korean management system work with open interaction and without excessive power abuse, in spite of the emphasis on authority and hierarchy in Korean society? This paper explicates the concept of jeong exchange, an emotional support mechanism based on informal social ties, as the basis of social capital in Korean collectives (woori). Jeong exchange is first described and then contrasted with related concepts in the other major Confucian societies of China and Japan. It is then used to develop the notion of “collective leadership” to describe the nature and process of Korean leadership.