Job growth in early transition: Comparing two paths*

Small start‐up firms are the engine of job creation in early transition. We ask about differences in their growth across two different transition economies: Estonia, which experienced rapid destruction of pre‐existing firms, and the Czech Republic, which reduced the old sector gradually. We find that the majority of job growth corresponds to within‐industry reallocation. The within‐industry growth of small start‐up firms is similar in the two countries, in line with the convergence to Western industry firm‐size distributions. We also find similar patterns in the evolution of wage differentials between start‐ups and old firms and small differences in the extent of low‐wage employment in start‐ups across the two transition paths. JEL Classifications: J2, J3, J4, L1, O1, P2.     

浅论我国农产品流通企业扩张的基本规律与政策规制

通过对农产品流通企业扩张形式全面的理论梳理, 研究总结了二种类型的农产品流通企业扩张基本规律,即纵向扩张和横向扩张,并对中国农产品企业扩张问题进行了实证研究,最后对我国农产品流通企业扩张提出建议.     

An empirical investigation of firm public and private knowledge

Many studies examine firm private knowledge, but purport to be generalizable to the totality of firm knowledge, both public and private. This study demonstrates that public and private firm knowledge are empirically separable constructs that have significant and yet different influences on innovative outcomes. The example of product development effectiveness within this study shows that both public and private knowledge are significantly related to product development quality; however, public knowledge is negatively related to quality lapses while private knowledge is positively related to quality lapses. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Technological proximity and the choice of cooperation partner

This paper provides empirical tests of hypotheses of cooperative behavior provided by evolutionary approaches in the resource-based view of the firm. The influences of “technological proximity”, individual incentives to cooperate and managerial tools to the choice of research partner are analyzed. Using German patent data we can show the positive influence of those three determinants. The results of this paper confirm theories dealing with the path-dependency of research activities.      

Antecedents and consequences of corporate governance reform: the case of Germany

The paper examines the antecedents and consequences of the voluntary adoption of corporate governance reform in firms embedded in a relationship‐based governance system with less protection of minority shareholders. In such locations, ownership structure should be a key determinant of governance reform. Firms with dispersed ownership are likely to face agency problems but may lack sufficient ownership power in the hand of external owners for adoption to occur. Extensive ownership by external parties facilitates adoption but decreases the need and motivation to adopt governance reform. We examined the adoption of stock‐based incentive plans and transparent accounting regulations (e.g., greater disclosure to shareholders) among large German firms (DAX 100) during the late 1990s. We found an inverse ‘U’‐shaped relationship between ownership concentration and governance reform. In addition, we found that firms adopting governance reform were more likely to engage in corporate divestitures and achieve higher levels of market performance than firms not adopting governance reform. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

事务所规模与年报会计政策“类准则”披露——基于文本分析的经验证据

通过计算上市公司年报会计政策披露的“类准则”程度,讨论会计师事务所规模是否为影响上市公司会计政策披露行为的重要因素。研究发现：（1）由规模较大的会计师事务所审计的上市公司,年报会计政策披露的“类准则”程度较低,会提供更多公司会计政策的个性化信息。（2）在上市公司风险增强和会计准则重大变化的两大类场景中,事务所规模与年报会计政策披露“类准则”程度之间的关系都得到增强,说明事务所的风险压力和事务所能力是重要的机制路径。（3）由同一事务所审计的上市公司会计政策披露的“类准则”程度更一致,具有同所效应。（4）基于会计师事务所变更的检验发现,若变更后的事务所规模更大,则会计政策披露的“类准则”程度会降低;若变更后的事务所规模更小,则会计政策披露的“类准则”程度会提高。     

经济全球化下基于企业能力的价值链优化分析

本文主要探讨了经济全球化下，基于企业能力的价值链优化问题。文中将企业活动按其价值创造大小划分为：核心活动、亚核心活动和基础活动三类；分析企业自主执行各项活动能力的强弱；构建企业活动、能力与战略选择矩阵，从企业能力与企业活动的匹配关系角度，对企业活动进行恰当的战略选择：自制、合作或外包，以优化企业价值链，实现企业持续竞争优势。     

企业环境绩效与经济绩效的动态关系模型

企业环境绩效与经济绩效的关系是企业战略管理研究领域里一个比较新的研究对象。现有的研究除方法和数据方面的缺陷外,主要问题是理论模型的解释力不强。本文认为组织能力是企业环境绩效与经济绩效之间内在联系的纽带,一个基于企业组织能力的环境绩效评估体系能够对企业改善环境绩效产生持续的激励作用。据此提出“基于组织能力的企业环境绩效”的理论模型,旨在从环境管理能力建设的角度来讨论企业环境绩效评估的基础方法和原则。     

外部治理环境与公司内部治理结构效应比较

本文以深沪两市1039家上市公司2001—2005年的严格平衡面板数据作为样本.实证分析了外部治理环境的不同程度和公司内部治理结构的不同安排对公司价值的影响效应,并分行业细分了这种影响效应的差异。实证回归的结果发现。在外部治理环境当中只有法治化水平对总体样本的上市公司价值有显著的影响作用.而在公司内部治理结构当中则证实了正U型的股权结构效应。此外.外部治理环境与公司内部治理结构对公司价值的影响效应会因行业而有所差异。然而。从整体上看.前者的效应都明显地小于后者。研究结果表明。对于中国特殊的证券市场环境而言。同样存在着公司内部治理结构的合理安排可以作为公司价值保护机制的可能性。     

Air Afrique: the demise of a continental icon

Although the rationale for multi-flag airlines' formation is rooted in contemporary strategic thinking, our understanding of their emergence and subsequent mass disappearances in the twentieth century remains an elusive issue. This article seeks to fill this void by examining the emergence, ascendency and demise of Air Afrique, an airline once seen as a symbol of regional integration in Africa. This examination takes a historical perspective and covers the period from 1961 to 2002. On the basis of this historical analysis, five distinct stages have been identified reflecting the firm's glorious days, precipitous decline and subsequent collapse. These are: the golden age; Africanisation; escalating indecision, escalating commitment and dissolution phases. Each phase provides insights into the deterministic and voluntaristic perspectives of organisational failure. The implications of the findings of this research for theory and practice are discussed.