The intersubsidiary competition in an MNE: evidence from the Greater China region

We examine subsidiary survival from an intersubsidiary competition perspective. Drawing from 87 Taiwanese subsidiaries of MNEs we examine the influences of strategic importance of a subsidiary, resource asymmetry, and characteristics of value activities on the survival rate of a subsidiary. Results show that these factors have differential effects on the survival rates of a firm's foreign subsidiaries. Specifically, strategic importance and gains in intangible resources enhance a subsidiary's survival rate, whereas local responsiveness, gains in physical resources, and similarity and mobility of value‐added activities decrease its survival rate. Copyright © 2007 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Assessing credit quality from the equity market: can a structural approach forecast credit ratings?

We investigate the empirical performance of default probability prediction based on Merton's (1974) structural credit risk model. More specifically, we study if distance‐to‐default is a sufficient statistic for the equity market information concerning the credit quality of the debt‐issuing firm. We show that a simple reduced form model outperforms the Merton (1974) model for both in‐sample fitting and out‐of‐sample predictability for credit ratings, and that both can be greatly improved by including the firm's equity value as an additional variable. Moreover, the empirical performance of this hybrid model is very similar to that of the simple reduced form model. As a result, we conclude that distant‐to‐default alone does not adequately capture the firm's credit quality information from the equity market. Copyright © 2007 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Understanding diversity managersõ role in organizational change: Towards a conceptual framework

The paper presents a conceptual framework charting the agency of diversity managers in organizational change. Evaluating and critiquing the contemporary models of organizational change management, we identify three concepts, which are situatedness, relationality, and praxis, for understanding the diversity managers' agency in the organizational change process. Each orienting concept is explored in the context of current diversity management literature and their combined explanatory power is discussed. Copyright © 2009 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conformity and diversity of accounting and financial reporting practices in Portuguese local government

Portuguese governmental accounting has evolved from essentially a cash‐based budgetary accounting system to an accrual‐based financial and cost accounting system. Evidence from financial reports shows a great level of diversity amongst municipalities' voluntary compliance with the new accounting rules. Using a sample of Portuguese municipalities in the year 2003 we calculate and analyse the levels of compliance with the practices required by law and document the diversity in compliance across municipalities. The differences across municipalities are explained by some fundamental factors: size, financial conditions, urban characteristics, and diffusion across neighbouring municipalities. We show an unexpected effect of size. Larger municipalities comply less with accounting standards. Organizational complexity, conservative practices, and aversion to change may explain this result. Copyright © 2007 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Economic Evaluation of Crop Rotations in Southwestern Saskatchewan

This study reports on an economic analysis of twelve crop rotations considered feasible for southwestern Saskatchewan. The results suggest that producers in this region should consider selecting a more intensive cropping system than has been the tradition. The three-year fallow-wheat-wheat rotation with recommended rates of nitrogen and phosphorus (N and P) fertilizers provided the highest expected net returns under most reasonable input cost and product price assumptions. Expected net returns for the traditional two-year wheat rotation and for the continuous wheat rotation averaged about 24 percent lower. The application of recommended rates of N fertilizer increased expected net farm income for the three-year and continuous wheat rotations by 6.6 and 10.5 percent, respectively. Use of P fertilizer in the three-year wheat rotation increased expected net farm income by an average of 20.6 percent. Average production costs increased as the proportion of summerfallow in the rotation decreased. Break-even stubble /fallow yield ratios that provided equivalent net returns from stubble and fallow cropping averaged 64 percent for the three-year wheat rotation and 76 percent for the continuous wheat rotation. Annual income variability was greatest for the continuous crop rotations and lowest for the two-year wheat rotation. Cette étude résume l'analyse économique de douze rotations de cultures jugées viables dans le Sud-Ouest de la Saskatchewan. Les résultats suggérent que les producteurs de cette région ont avanlage à considérer un systéme de production plus intensif que de par le passé. Les meilleurs revenus nets anticipés pour la plupart des suppositions raisonables des coúts de production et des prix des den rées furent accomptis avec la rotation de trois ans jachére-blé-bléfertilisée selon les recommendations en S et P. Les revenues nets anticipés avec la rotation traditionnelle de blé de deux ans (jachére-blé) et la rotation de blé continu furent en moyenne approximativement 24 pour-cent plus bas que la meilleure rotation. L'emploi d'engrais azotés aux taux recommendés augmenta le revenu net anticipé de 6,6 pour-cent pour la rotation de blé de trois ans et de 10.5 pour-cent pour la rotation de blé continu. L'amendement du sol en phosphate augmenta le revenu net anticipé de 20.6 pour-cent dans la rotation de blè de trois ans. Les coúrts deproduction augmentirènt à mesure que la proportion de Ierre en jachire duns la rotation diminuait. Les taux d'èquilibre des rendemenis chaume/jachire produisant des revenus nets equivalentr pour la culture sur le chaume el la jachire furenl en moyenne 64 pour-cent pour la rotation de blè de trois ans et 76 pour-cent pour la rotation de blè continu. La variabilite du revenu annuel fut la plus grande pour les rotations de culiures continues el la plus foible pour la rotation de blè de deux ans.     

A French model of craft training: its strategic relevance and recruitment issues for a UK firm

This paper is a study of the recruitment to the first version of the International Journeyman Programme (IJP), a project to recruit and train young workers from the north-east of England for a craft and technician training programme in engineering organized by a French trade guild, Les Compagnons du Devoir (CdD). The initial version of the project was unsuccessful and the paper highlights the role played by UK state agencies and institutions in the recruitment process in the project's lack of success. The paper examines the strategic relevance of a model of French craft training to a UK firm, describes that system of training and development, and analyses the recruitment difficulties faced by the IJP organizers when they attempted to launch the programme. The study finds that key elements of the UK VET system have severe problems in delivering high-skills training, and that there are in-built structural barriers that limit the extent to which such training can be easily imported.     

Reducing environmental uncertainty: How high performance work systems moderate the resource dependence‐firm performance relationship

Firm performance is a major concern for all organizations and involves a multitude of antecedents. Reducing environmental uncertainty and dependency through the use of strategic actions in the resource dependency theory (RDT) framework and enhancing work practices through high performance work systems (HPWS) lead to higher levels of firm performance. We reveal the interconnectivity between RDT and HPWS and develop propositions as to how components of HPWS positively moderate the relationship between firm performance and the environmental uncertainty‐reducing strategic actions proposed by RDT such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, boards of directors, political action, and executive succession. Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.