Differences and similaritites between corporate governance principles in Islamic banks and Conventional banks

The purpose of this paper is to present the some differences and similarities between corporate governance principles in Islamic banks and conventional banks by paradigmatic diversification. Since Corporate governance in Islamic banks is a social phenomenon in Islamic societies, the paper uses social theory paradigms (functionalist, interpretive, radical humanist and radical structuralist) to compare between corporate governance in Islamic banks and conventional banks. This paper demonstrates that mainstream corporate corporate governance theories are not a law of nature but a social construct.     

Development by Decree: The Limits of ‘Authoritarian Modernization’ in the Russian Federation

The apparent success of state‐managed market economies has challenged the conventional wisdom that liberal democracy is the norm around which all capitalist countries tend to converge. If the link between democracy and development is more tenuous than we often think, the authoritarian variety of capitalism is not without its own problems, especially with respect to political legitimacy, innovation and regional development. This article explores these issues through the prism of ‘authoritarian modernization’ in Russia. We argue that this strategy is unlikely to succeed, even in its own terms, because (1) the political system fails to create favourable institutional conditions for modernization; (2) the economic system is beset by deeply embedded structural problems; and (3) the regional policy apparatus is torn between the goals of spatial equalization and spatial agglomeration. The article focuses on the Skolkovo Innovation Centre, the main symbol of Russian modernization, to demonstrate the territorial repertoire of the mega‐project, a state‐sponsored development strategy to create innovation clusters from above because they cannot emerge from below.     

Extending the enterprise evolution contextualisation model

Enterprise engineering (EE) emerged as a new discipline to encourage comprehensive and consistent enterprise design. Since EE is multidisciplinary, various researchers study enterprises from different perspectives, which resulted in a plethora of applicable literature and terminology, but without shared meaning. Previous research specifically focused on the fragmentation of knowledge for designing and aligning the information and communication technology (ICT) subsystem of the enterprise in order to support the business organisation subsystem of the enterprise. As a solution for this fragmented landscape, a business-IT alignment model (BIAM) was developed inductively from existing business-IT alignment approaches. Since most of the existing alignment frameworks addressed the alignment between the ICT subsystem and the business organisation subsystem, BIAM also focused on the alignment between these two subsystems. Yet, the emerging EE discipline intends to address a broader scope of design, evident in the existing approaches that incorporate a broader scope of design/alignment/governance. A need was identified to address the knowledge fragmentation of the EE knowledge base by adapting BIAM to an enterprise evolution contextualisation model (EECM), to contextualise a broader set of approaches, as identified by Lapalme. The main contribution of this article is the incremental development and evaluation of EECM. We also present guiding indicators/prerequisites for applying EECM as a contextualisation tool.     

International investors’ reactions to cross-border acquisitions by emerging market multinationals

How do international investors react to announcements of cross-border mergers and acquisitions (CM&As) by emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs)? Using a unique and manually-constructed firm-level dataset, this paper examines the stock price reactions to CM&A announcements made over the period 1991–2010 by Chinese MNEs listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the wealth impacts of their corporate governance. Our empirical findings confirm a positive stock price reaction on average, and suggest that international investors react positively to the presence of large shareholders, but negatively to the presence of institutional shareholders. There is a negative impact if the largest shareholder is either the State or the corporate founder. We suggest that this is because the international investors perceive potential principal–principal conflicts in such ownership/control constellations and discount equity prices accordingly. We also find that Board size and independence have positive effects on the price reaction, but that large supervisory boards engender negative reactions.     

China’s megaregion policy: Performance evaluation framework,empirical findings and implications for spatial polycentric governance

Megaregion has emerged as a new dimension of global urbanization. A megaregion approach based on polycentric strategy is deemed to enhance regional economic competitiveness. Numerous studies have highlighted the economic benefits, celebrated the spill-over effects, and outlined the creative potentials of contemporary megaregion policies in different nations worldwide. However, further policy instruments require the knowledge about the achievement and failure of megaregion policies that seek for spatial, economic, social, and environmental efficiency and sustainability. This paper introduces China’s megaregion policy and proposes an analytical framework for performance evaluation from four principle domains (rational urban growth, economic development, social equity, environmental protection) at three levels (internal collaboration, integral development, and overall development). Using a case of the Megaregion around Hangzhou Bay (MAHB), we find very limited success of China’s megaregion policy. In particular, the megaregion policy only accomplishes the economic goal, and fails to achieve the goals of rational urban growth, environmental protection, and social equity. A series of mechanism based regressions are established and show that the implementation duration of megaregion policy: (1) associates positively with the economic growth; (2) relates negatively to social equity and urban rational growth; and (3) has no significant relationship with improved environmental quality. Institutional fragmentation, no unified spatial planning, and inadequate legislation at megaregional level are the underlying causes of the expected performances within the policy context of governance itself. We finally propose some possible solutions and discuss the implications for spatial polycentric governance. The demonstrated methodological framework can be applicable to other megaregions around the world. This paper is thus believed to provide some new insights for land use policy.     

Does CEO duality constrain board independence? Some evidence from audit pricing

This study examines whether CEO duality affects the association between board independence and demand for higher quality audits, proxied by audit fee. The findings show that there is a positive association between board independence and audit fees. This result is consistent with findings of Carcello et al. (2002) that more independent boards demand higher audit quality and effort. However, this positive association is only present in firms without CEO duality, thus suggesting that CEO duality constrains board independence. The results support recommendations against CEO duality by showing that dominant CEOs may compromise the independence of their board of directors. Additionally, evidence is provided that board size (the number of directors on the board) is positively associated with audit fee pricing. This is consistent with prior studies that indicate that larger board sizes are associated with inefficiency and negative firm performance.     

Political interventions in state-owned enterprises: The corporate governance failures of a European airline

This paper is based on the theory of hybrid organizations and we investigate the context, factors, mediators, and outcome of a public scandal involving a Romanian state-owned company in the civil aviation sector. This retrospective case study is part of a research design that alternates between inductive and deductive procedures devised to test relevant hypotheses, integrate several theories, and construct the causal mechanism of the corporate scandal. Four theories have been selected to address multiple aspects of the case: the hybrid organization theory, the agency theory, the fraud triangle theory, and the legitimacy theory. Several hypotheses have been proposed at the confluence of these frameworks, and the data collection process was conducted to ensure the credibility, dependability, and transferability of results. In addition to the themes and categories that have emerged from the thematic analysis, the paper also uses the process-tracing method to propose a causal graph and an event-history map in support of the hypotheses. The paper puts forward a series of recommendations on how to improve the corporate governance of state-owned enterprises, and to prevent potential scandals. The authors suggest that the separation of ownership and control is beneficial for strategy implementation in state-owned enterprises and can alleviate an entity’s financial difficulties.     

财务治理分层论

随着改革开放以来我国市场经济体制的改革与发展,现代企业财务制度不再是只由企业所有者单方包揽大局,而是由企业所有者、经营者和财务经理等分层对企业进行管理和治理,于是财务分层治理思想应用而生。     

A toolbox for garden governance

A substantial fraction of the open space in (peri-) urban and rural areas is covered by domestic gardens which support the delivery of multiple ecosystem services. Although individually they may look insignificant, the aggregation of domestic gardens and of gardening actions can be significant. Referring to ‘the tyranny of small decisions’, we launch the concept of a ‘resource by small gardening actions’: the positive cumulative outcome of individual garden owners adopting pro-environmental gardening practices. Using qualitative research, we gained a thorough insight into the barriers and levers related to the development of domestic gardens as a ‘resource by small gardening actions’. By combining the data from expert interviews with a design workshop addressing garden and landscape architects, and focus groups with private garden owners, we identified eight barriers and nine levers. These levers are part of a ‘mix and match’ toolbox, allowing the development of tailor-made strategies for garden governance. These insights increase the understanding on if and how private actors and their properties could become part of policy plans to support ecosystem services. This adds to the global understanding of the strategic value of daily-life landscapes that exist all over the world.