Product Market Competition,Managerial Incentives and Firm Valuation

This paper contributes to the very small empirical literature on the effects of competition on managerial incentive schemes. Based on a theoretical model that incorporates both strategic interaction between firms and a principal agent relationship, we analyse the relationship between product market competition, incentive schemes and firm valuation. The model predicts a nonlinear relationship between the intensity of product market competition and the strength of managerial incentives. We test the implications of our model empirically based on a unique and hand‐collected dataset comprising over 600 observations on 200 Swiss firms over the 2002–2005 period. Our results suggest that, consistent with the implications of our model, the relation between product market competition and managerial intensive schemes is convex indicating that above a certain level of intensity in product market competition, the marginal effect of competition on the strength of the incentive schemes increases in the level of competition. Moreover, competition is associated with lower firm values. These results are robust to accounting for a potential endogeneity of managerial incentives and firm value in a simultaneous equations framework.     

THE SUBSTANCE OF ACCOUNTING FOR PUBLIC‐PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

This article evaluates Public‐Private Partnerships (PPP) accounting practice and the related financial accounting and reporting requirements. Governments across the world are seeking to access private finance to improve public infrastructure. Accounting for PPPs has encountered many difficulties, one of which is the practice by which PPPs are not accounted for as fixed assets on the balance sheet of either the public sector client or the private sector operator. Accounting for PPPs has grown in importance at a time of transition from national Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP) to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Under UK GAAP, both client and operator accounting adopt the reasoning – familiar from leasing standards – of the allocation of risks and rewards between the parties to determine the party which should recognize the fixed asset on its balance sheet. The gap in IFRS with regard to operator accounting has been filled by the interpretation IFRIC 12 on service concession agreements: this moves the reasoning from risks and rewards to control, familiar from consolidation standards. The UK Treasury and the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) have required/proposed the adoption of the mirror‐image treatment of IFRIC 12. In most, but not all, cases, control will be assessed to rest with the client, which will recognize property, plant and equipment, and not with the operator, which will recognize either a financial asset or an intangible asset on the basis of an assessment of which party bears the majority of risks and rewards. Under both UK GAAP and IFRS, accounting policy choices are strongly influenced by, for the client, governmental control frameworks, and for the operator, by the implications for the profile of distributable profits and for taxation. An important public policy issue is that the national accounts, which for European Union member states must comply with European System of Accounts 1995, will remain on a risks and rewards basis. It is these numbers that will be used in assessments of macro‐fiscal policy and fiscal risks, notwithstanding that the Eurostat version of risks and rewards is even more open to manipulation than were the national financial reporting standards.     

NOT REPORTING A PROFIT: CONSTRUCTING A NON‐PROFIT ORGANISATION

Public sector reformers advocate contracting‐out as a means of improving cost‐effectiveness. In the health sector, market‐based contracts with for‐profit organisations can reduce equity of access and divert public funds to private gain. Such issues have prompted policy makers to seek alternative contracting strategies. This paper examines a primary health care policy whereby government contracts with private non‐profit organisations to increase efficiency and meet World Health Organisation ideals. The study found that the policy's implementation has not achieved these aims when for‐profit providers masquerade as non‐profit organisations. The implication is that governments may find it more effective to manage for structural diversity than mandate homogenisation.     

关于资产证券化的资本计量

由于美国住房抵押贷款证券化产品的暴跌是次贷危机引爆器,因此,人们在研究加强资本监管时,会对证券化的资本计量给予特别关注。本文从理论结合实践的角度,对证券化产品各类市场参与者的相关资本计量问题进行了思考,梳理并归纳了资产证券化发起机构、投资机构和中介机构在各自资本计量过程中需遵循的原则及思路。     

政策性金融审计思考

当前,我国政策性金融机构改革到了选择发展方向的关键时刻,其发展中出现的问题同样不容忽视,本文通过借鉴国外政策性金融机构发展的经验和教训,探索加强我国政策性金融审计监督的途径,以发挥审计保障经济社会运行"免疫系统"功能.     

董事会结构、股权结构与中小企业绩效

以中小企业板2004～2009年数据为基础,分析了中小上市企业董事会结构、股权结构与绩效之间的关系。实证结果表明,中小上市企业的董事会结构、股权结构与绩效之间的内生性特征不显著。董事会规模对Tobin’Q具有负向影响,对总资产收益率无显著影响。CEO双重性对Tobin’Q和总资产收益率分别具有负向影响和正向影响。董事会独立性对总资产收益率具有负向影响,对Tobin’Q无显著影响,表明独立董事在中小上市企业中并未起到有效的监督作用。Tobin’Q和股权集中度之间呈现显著的倒W形关系,但总资产收益率和股权集中度之间无显著相关性。Tobin’Q和总资产收益率与管理层持股之间均呈现显著的N形关系。     

Does distance matter for internationally-oriented small firms?

This paper assesses the contemporary relevance of distance and its key components in international business for young, internationally-oriented small firms. In doing so, it reconceptualizes the distance concept and investigates its relevance in American, British, and German firms' early foreign market selection. Economic, geographic, and cultural distance (based on Hofstede's and Schwartz's frameworks) for the three countries, along with psychic distance for the German firms, are considered. The results show that some components of distance still matter for internationally-oriented small firms and that cultural distance is sample source and concept sensitive. In addition, psychic distance acts as a mediator construct to the more objective, external distance measures of economic, geographic, and cultural distance, confirming the proposed distance framework.     

异质性企业出口行为的实证研究——基于中国企业面板数据

在近年兴起的新—新贸易理论中,出口行为与企业生产率之间的双向因果关系的实证研究逐渐成为主要的热点领域。许多学者用不同国家企业数据验证了自我选择效应和出口学习效应两个逻辑相反的假设。我们利用中国企业的微观层面数据对该命题进行验证。结果表明,自我选择效应显著,而出口学习效应不显著。最后在分析中国企业国际化行为特征的基础上,给出政策建议。     

The implementation and structuring of divestitures: the unit's perspective

Existing literature on value creation of divestitures focuses on their antecedents, typically relating them to the parent company's financial performance. Whether and how divestitures can create value for the divested unit remains unclear. This paper presents an exploratory study based on multiple cases, to examine which factors of the implementation and structuring of a divestiture may increase the performance of a divested unit. The emergent granular framework consists of previously unreported aspects of the divesting process and provides new insights into divestitures and their outcomes. Results indicate that antecedents alone may be insufficient for understanding the outcomes of divestitures. Different combinations of understanding of the rationale for the divestiture and perceived capabilities in the divesting process affect perceptions of divestiture feasibility. Sense of opportunity emerges as the key element of the divesting process for the success of divested units. Factors that participate with sense of opportunity in determining the success of divested units are further considered in the theoretical framework. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The value of relational learning in global buyer‐supplier exchanges: a dyadic perspective and test of the pie‐sharing premise

Research in collaborative interorganizational relationships has typically focused on the value of these relationships to a specific supply chain partner. Furthermore, the phenomenon has rarely been explored in a global setting. Using primary data from 126 cross‐border dyads, we investigate the influence of relational learning on the relationship performance of both the buyer and the supplier, testing the contention that both members (1) benefit from relational learning efforts and (2) enjoy equal pieces of the benefits pie. We find that three specific types of relational learning (information sharing, joint sensemaking, and knowledge integration) influence relationship performance, and that these dimensions of relational learning affect supply chain partners in different ways. We draw conclusions regarding the relative value of relational learning for both buyers and suppliers. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.