Societal institutions and HRM practices: an analysis of four European multinational subsidiaries in Bangladesh

Using the ‘societal-effect’ approach, a variant of the institutional theory developed and tested in Europe, this study investigates the impact of societal institutions on human resource management (HRM) practices of European multinational subsidiaries in Bangladesh, which is now on the list of the Next-11 economies of the world. In-depth case studies of four European multinational subsidiaries revealed the presence of different degrees of influence – partly attributable to societal effect – on the human resource practices of these subsidiaries. Our study added a new dimension to the interface between the strong and weak institutions and how such interfacing accords both legitimacy and reverse legitimacy to MNC subsidiaries and their societal institutions respectively. Another interesting finding of the study is the emergence of political system as a societal institution and, hence, a determinant of HRM practices in these subsidiaries. The study's implications are given.     

国际物资采购与物流体系发展趋势

概述了国际物资采购与物流体系发展的趋势;着重分析了全球化采购趋势、电子化采购趋势以及物流业务外包趋势。     

居民消费能力视角下的中国经常账户顺差影响因素协整分析

持续、巨额的经常账户顺差给中国带来了一系列负面影响。彻底扭转中国经常账户失衡,迫在眉睫。文章基于居民消费能力的视角,对中国经常账户问题进行了理论和实证分析。理论研究结果表明,居民消费能力是影响中国经常账户的主要因素;实证研究结果表明,中国经常账户顺差与居民消费能力、投资率、净国外资产比率和人口抚养比存在长期动态均衡关系,其中居民消费能力是影响经常账户的重要因素且与经常账户余额/GDP呈负相关关系。最后文章提出了相关的对策和建议。     

Innovation, rule breaking and the ethics of entrepreneurship

This article examines a feature of the ethics of entrepreneurship that is infrequently directly discussed, viz., rule breaking. Entrepreneurs are widely said to engage in rule breaking. Many examples of this appear in popular and academic literature. But how may this be integrated into an account of the ethics of entrepreneurship? One response would be that when entrepreneurs break legal and moral rules then what they do is wrong and ought to be condemned. There is a great deal to be said for this rule model of entrepreneurial ethics. However, this view is also mistaken. Instead, this article defends a virtue-based account of the ethics of entrepreneurship in which certain instances of rule breaking, even if morally wrong, are nevertheless ethically acceptable and part of the creative destruction that entrepreneurs bring not only to the economy but also to morality.     

Ethics and entrepreneurship

As the study of entrepreneurship and the study of business ethics become increasingly established, the intersection of entrepreneurship and ethics is receiving increasing scholarly attention. In this paper, we review the research connecting ethics and entrepreneurship, classifying the literature into three broad themes; we also identify and integrate the key themes that emerge, and we offer suggestions for future research. We conclude by introducing the articles in this special issue.     

Women’s empowerment and nutrition status: The case of iron deficiency in India

In this paper we study the relationship between women’s empowerment in agriculture and their iron deficiency status in Maharashtra, India. This is the first time the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) has been used in association with explicit measurement of medical biomarkers for women’s iron deficiency status. Using primary data for 960 women we find that the log odds of a poor iron status in women decline as women’s empowerment levels in agriculture improve. Further, this decline is seen in the presence of multiple dietary diversity measures (dietary diversity score, share of rice and wheat in the diet, total iron intake and iron intake from iron-rich food groups – all for 24-h and 30-day recalls) suggesting that in addition to dietary pathways women’s empowerment can play a role in addressing micronutrient deficiencies like those of iron in a vulnerable sub-group of the population. It also reinforces the need to move away from the ‘staple grain fundamentalism’ that has characterized agricultural policy in India, towards more nutrition-sensitive food systems.     

高校科技成果转化现实障碍及其破解机制

高校科技成果转化率低的现实早已引起社会各界警觉,但理论研究和实践探索都将权属改革视为破解圭臬,并未实现预期目标。事实上,高校科技成果转化的真正障碍是专利技术水平和转化价值低、专业转化人才与机构缺失、中试环节薄弱且资金匮乏。因此,为了针对高校成果转化痛点精准施策,释放创新驱动效能,我国应改革专利管理体制和科研评价机制,提升专利质量并加大科学研究对企业需求的关照;可借鉴牛津大学的做法,由高校在不增加编制的前提下,独资建立自负盈亏的专业转化服务公司;优化科研经费投入结构,引导多元风险资金进入,健全科技成果转化风险投资机制。     

欧盟特保措施法对我国纺织品的影响及应采取的对策

本文对欧盟针对中国纺织品服装出口的特保措施法及实施细则进行了详细的介绍。主要分析了欧盟对于纺织品服装贸易特保措施法,提出我国相关企业应加快产业调整和产品升级,积极发挥我国政府和行业协会的作用,中欧之间的纺织品服装贸易就将朝着积极的方向发展。     

Women’s empowerment boosts the gains in dietary diversity from agricultural technology adoption in rural Kenya

Using new survey data from rural Kenya, this paper assesses the moderating effect of women’s empowerment on the relationship between agricultural technology adoption and women’s dietary diversity. We use a multiple treatment endogenous switching regression framework to control for potential endogeneity of women’s empowerment and technology adoption. We find that women’s empowerment has a positive and significant effect on the women’s dietary diversity score regardless of technology adoption status. We further show that women’s empowerment enhances the positive effects of technology adoption on women’s dietary diversity. Although technology adoption has a positive impact on women’s dietary diversity regardless of empowerment status, its effect is stronger for households with empowered vs. disempowered women. Study results suggest that individual and household welfare could be enhanced to a greater degree through interventions that promote women’s empowerment and technology adoption simultaneously rather than separately.     

The Impact of Institutions and Exchange Rate Volatility on China’s Outward FDI

Over the past decade, China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) has rapidly increased. However, its characteristics are not sufficiently studied. In this article, we explore the host country’s determinants of China’s OFDI, with a focus on institutional quality, exchange rate volatility, and natural resources by performing an econometric analysis for the period 2003–2013 for a sample of 49 countries. Our results reveal that China’s OFDI is invested in countries with relatively poor institutional quality and abundant natural resources. Exchange rate variability has a dampening effect on China’s OFDI and that the appreciation of the Chinese renminbi enhances OFDI flows.