A tale of three marketplaces: Chinese commodities,European fairs,Vietnamese entrepreneurs

This article is based on ethnographic research undertaken over the course of a year (2017) in three wholesale marketplaces situated in Warsaw (Poland), Odessa (Ukraine) and Yiwu (China). Daily transactions in these wholesale fairs span different continents, linking East Asia to Eastern Europe. Key in assembling such far‐reaching trading networks are Chinese‐made commodities, Vietnamese diasporas and European trade regulations. In this article, I pay particular attention to entrepreneurial Vietnamese as they sojourned to Eastern Europe, originally as part of exchanges that sought to create a ‘socialist ecumene’.     

CROSS-BORDER ACQUISITIONS AND BOARD GLOBALIZATION IN THE WORLD'S LARGEST TNCS, 1995–2005

Because of their size, power, and undemocratic nature, the cross-border activities of the world's transnational corporations (TNCs) are of particular interest to sociologists. Previous research shows that over the past decade the boards of directors of the world's largest TNCs have become more multinational, in other words are increasingly composed of individuals from different countries. During the same period there was also a dramatic increase in the number of cross-border TNC mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Anecdotal evidence suggests a connection between cross-border acquisitions and the increasingly multinational composition of TNC boards, and this study explores that relationship using data on the 148 largest TNCs and commercial banks. We find that a cross-border acquisition almost always results in a more multinational board of directors, that multinational boards are more likely to do cross-border deals, and that once a board becomes multinational it stays that way. The evidence also shows that multinational boards are concentrated in Europe, suggesting another dynamic between the integrating forces of the European Union and its TNCs. Because the results show increasing cross-national contact between the corporate elites who serve on multinational TNC boards, the results also provide some support for claims about the recent emergence of a "Transnational Business Class" or "Transnational Capitalist Class," at least in Europe, although it is recognized that more study is needed to make the case that such a class is forming.     

Liability of Foreignness and the Uses of Expatriates in Japanese Multinational Corporations in the United States

This paper examines the factors which determine the use of expatriates (parent company managers) in Japanese multinational corporations in the United States, addressing the issue of "liability of foreignness" in establishing new ventures in an international context. The paper attempts to explain theoretically the variance in the proportion of expatriates used across these United States subsidiaries, drawing on the resource dependence theory. Previous research suggests that when liabilities of foreignness are high, and when there is a need to develop organizational forms that insure reliable resource flows to coordinate activities, then Japanese multinational corporations will substitute expatriates for local personnel. Data on 3,119 corporate establishments are derived from the section on the United States of Kaigai Shinshutsu Kigyo Soran [List of Japanese-Owned Firms Abroad] (Toyokeizai 1995), seeing Japanese expatriates as agents who engage in transactions of necessary resources with surrounding corporations and with the parent companies.     

Identification of Elder Abuse in Institutional Settings:

Most literature on elder abuse has focused on the abuse of community dwelling elderly, rather than elderly living in institutional settings. Yet this population is particularly vulnerable to abuse because of their exceptional frailty and the danger of retaliation from their caretakers. A particular difficulty with the identification of abuse in institutional settings is the lack of measurement instruments designed to remedy this lack by analyzing the literature on institutional abuse of the elderly, and comparing this knowledge to the existing indicators of abuse. Abuse types included in the analysis are: Physical Abuse, Physical Neglect, Psychological Abuse, Psychological Neglect, Material Abuse, and Violation of Personal Rights. The research showed that most identification items used in community settings are also useful in institutional settings, but additional issues must also by considered. Among these are the need for greater attention to evidence of the use of restraints, particularly chemical restraints; special problems with identifying the abuser; and the existence of different sources of information, such as medical records.     

Two Components of Wage Gaps Induced by Individual-level Variables: Intra-firm or Inter-firm?

Individual-level variables such as gender, education, occupation, and employment type are well-known factors that induce wage gaps in the labor market. This article aims to divide wage gaps into two components—those arising within each firm (the intra-firm wage gap) and those arising between different firms (the inter-firm wage gap)—and measure their respective proportions by individual-level variables, as studies suggest that each wage gap based on an individual-level variable has a unique mix of an intra-firm and inter-firm wage gap. This measurement can help enrich investigation into the generative process of wage gaps and formulate effective labor policies to reduce them. Accordingly, we compared the coefficients of the independent variables of the wage function estimated by a pooled ordinary least squares model and a fixed-effect model, using nationwide employer–employee matching data collected by the Japanese government. We found that wage gaps by gender and employment type mostly consist of intra-firm wage gaps, and those by education and occupation have a larger share of inter-firm wage gaps. The findings suggest that different research strategies are required to investigate the generative process of each wage gap, and that regulations on and interventions in organizational processes are important to reduce wage gaps based on gender and employment type.     

Portfolios of mobility: the movement of expertise in transnational corporations in two sectors — aerospace and extractive industries

This article is about how UK‐based transnational corporations source expertise and move highly skilled people among their sites. TNCs rely heavily on their internal labour markets for skills. We examine patterns and trends in the ways that TNCs in two sectors, aerospace and extractives, dynamically orchestrate and deploy their networks of expertise internationally to address the demands of different markets. We chart the types of mobility that exist, identify how and why they are used, and explore some of the institutional, industrial, organizational and technological factors that influence these trends. We show that different types of mobility play distinct roles in organizations. Companies respond to mobility calls from diverse stimuli by linking together mobility options into portfolios of moves that represent negotiated responses to industrial and individual requirements.     

Income characteristics and the use of microfinance services: evidence from economically active persons with disabilities

The purpose of this empirical research from Uganda is to provide initial insight into the ‘black box’ of understanding the economic behaviour of persons with disabilities and about their use of microfinance services. First, we analyse the income levels of persons with disabilities in relation to their sources of income. Second, we study the income sources and income levels for different types of disabilities. Finally, we analyse how income level and income source relate to the use of microfinance services for persons with disabilities. We present evidence that farmers with disabilities and persons with visual impairments have lower income levels than other persons with disabilities. We then document that those with the lowest income levels have the least access to microfinance services, in particular services from formal institutions. Moreover, respondents involved in farming and manufacturing have less access to formal microfinance services than those involved in retail/wholesale or service activities.     

Corporate Form and the State: Business Policy and Change from the Multidivisional to the Multilayered Subsidiary Form*

The largest industrial corporations are changing to a multilayered subsidiary form. Whereas corporations have used subsidiaries to organize their assets since the tum of the century, the number of wholly owned subsidiaries in the 100 largest industrial corporations doubled between 1981 and 1993. The question addressed here is: Why are corporations changing their form now? I suggest that the question is historically contingent and that the answer is, in part, explained by changes in state business policy. A capital dependence framework is elaborated to examine the relationship between state business policy and corporations in the 1970s and 1980s. Business policy changes–resulting in the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and the Revenue Act of 1987–provided corporations with tax-free procedures for parent companies to simultaneously restructure their divisions as subsidiaries and restructure their debt. There are additional incentives for corporations to restructure their divisions as subsidiaries: (1) creating a liability firewall between the parent company and its subsidiary corporations, limiting the financial risk of parent companies, and (2) creating an internal capital market, providing an alternative form of financing thereby reducing corporations’dependence on external capital markets.     

Accountability as a Managerial Tool in Non-Profit Organizations: Evidence from Italian CSVs

The long-term performance of NPOs is based on their ability to link and maximize social value as defined in their mission. This involves legitimacy obtained from stakeholders influenced by and influencing NPO activities, and their operational capacity or economic efficiency. Thus, NPOs have to utilize multiple level accountability systems which should be compatible with their multiple objectives and stakeholders’ claims. The accountability system of an NPO should focus on its operational capacity, because in order to maximize its efficiency, an NPO has to measure its resource use, cost structure, and financial structure. Legitimacy obtained from stakeholders is also integral. If an organization is considered a social contract between multiple stakeholders, it has to consider the social economic effects of its activities and it has the duty to account for them. However, since the mission of an NPO is to create and distribute social value to a certain specific group, its social value creation has the most important role and an NPO should measure the social value it has created. This article analyzes the accountability system of a specific type of Italian NPO called Centri di Servizio per il Volontariato (CSVs)—namely centers which provide services for voluntary associations. The aim of the research is to verify if the accountability system adopted by CSVs satisfies their need for multiple level information (operational, legitimacy, and social value) and accomplishes their stakeholder claims, and to determine its impact on the definition and implementation of their strategy and on their long-term performance. The research was carried out using the action research model, and the findings are based on the analysis of a sample of 64 CSVs situated throughout Italy.     

Is Integrated Reporting the silver bullet of financial communication? A stakeholder perspective from South Africa

Companies are being forced to critically re-evaluate how they communicate their financial information to stakeholders. Integrated Reporting, as mandated by the King III Report seeks to combine the reporting of financial and nonfinancial performance measures in a way that promotes corporate strategy. South Africa is leading the way in corporate governance and financial reporting with the first large-scale adoption of Integrated Reporting by listed companies. While there is a marked increase in financial communication from companies, it is not clear how all stakeholders use and value this information. The primary aim of this paper was to investigate how financial information is consumed within the ambit of the new financial reporting standards. Through a national online survey, this study found that very few stakeholders use the Integrated Reports as their main source of financial and investment information, and that these reports are seen as additional information. Annual and interim financial reports by companies are still the mainstay for corporate financial information. While stakeholders currently seldom use the Internet for financial information, they have indicated that they would increasingly prefer to do so. The paper concludes with a discussion of opportunities and challenges that future Integrated Reporting faces based on these findings.     

Institutional legacies in TNCs and their management through training academies: the case of transnational law firms in Italy

In this article we highlight the effects of heterogeneous institutional contexts on transnational professional service firms, a relatively poorly studied issue. Specifically, we provide empirical analysis of how the specificities of the Italian institutional context affect the activities of English legal professional service firms in Milan. This reveals the intimate connection between a variety of capitalism, place specific workplace cultures and practices, and the institution‐related challenges transnational professional service firms and all transnational corporations (TNCs) face. We also reveal the way institutionally generated differences at the level of work practices are managed in transnational law firms through worldwide training programmes designed to ‘govern’ the practices of workers in different parts of the TNC's network. This emphasizes the importance of studying attempts to manage institutional heterogeneity at the level of workplace practices, something often missed in existing mesoscale studies of TNC governance structures. Consequently, we highlight detailed empirical archaeologies that explore the direct links between institutions and practices as an important component of future research on the effects of institutions on TNCs.     

CHANGING BUSINESS MODELS IN INTERNATIONAL BANK FUNDING

This paper investigates the foreign funding mix of globally active banks. Using BIS international banking statistics for a panel of 12 advanced economies, we detect a structural break in international bank funding at the onset of the great financial crisis. In their postbreak business model, banks rely less on cross‐border liabilities and, instead, tap funds from outside their jurisdictions by making more active use of their subsidiaries and branches, as well as interoffice accounts within the same banking group. (JEL C32, F65, G21)     

Subprime Loans: A Reversal of Capital and a New Means of Inequality

This article provides a socio-historical analysis of particular financial instruments in the housing market. I argue that the production and consumption of subprime loans continue to evince a pattern of racial discrimination. Whereas racialized loans in the mid-1900s were based on providing credit to whites and precluding blacks from accessing credit (Wave I), a new means of financial production was predicated by the opposite (Wave II). Although the first wave of home ownership led to real increases in wealth, the second wave led to a housing bubble that resulted in less or negative wealth. Under the subprime era, banking institutions could reap profits when homeowners paid their loans on time or defaulted. White homeowners continued to fare better than black homeowners.     

Assessment of financial decision making: an informant scale

Older adults with cognitive impairment are a population at great risk for financial exploitation. At-risk older adults often have difficulty reporting on their own financial abilities. Collecting information from trusted others is vital for professionals investigating the financial exploitation older adults. There are few reliable, valid, and standardized informant-report measures of financial capacity, and none that assess decisional abilities for an ongoing, real-world financial transaction. The present study sought to examine the psychometric properties of a new informant-report scale of financial decisional abilities in older adults. One hundred fifty participants were recruited to complete the Family and Friends and Interview regarding a known older adult’s financial decisional abilities. A factor analysis identified two subscales. The full scale had adequate sensitivity and specificity to detect an informant’s current concerns regarding financial exploitation. The Family and Friends Scale is a useful tool for collecting informant-report regarding an older adult’s ability to make financial transactions.     

Community Foundations: A Growing Resource for Community Development

Like many nonprofit organizations, community development corporations (CDCs) rely on various sources of funding and support for their activities in poor and distressed neighborhoods. Funders often include the federal government, state and local government agencies, financial institutions, and philanthropic organizations. The author explains how community foundations are different from other philanthropic organizations and describes the various mechanisms that community foundations use to support community development. She suggests that there is a natural fit between the purpose of community foundations and the philosophy of community development, concluding that it is important for CDCs, as well as other nonprofit organizations, to understand how community foundations are different from other philanthropic organizations so that they may better position themselves to take advantage of the many resources that community foundations bring to their communities.     

Social Media Newsrooms in public relations: A conceptual framework and corporate practices in three countries

The rise of social media in organizational settings has opened up new horizons for strategic communication. However, there are also drawbacks. Arguably the most important one is increased complexity. Many communication departments use a multitude of platforms ranging from corporate websites, campaign microsites and blogs to services like Facebook and Twitter to communicate with stakeholders. Social Media Newsrooms (SMNRs) have been introduced as instruments to reduce this complexity. The basic idea is straightforward: SMNRs aggregate social media content provided by the organization and/or thematic content about the organization and its key issues from several platforms in one place. Although SMNRs have been used in public relations practice around the world since the concept was first introduced in 2007, empirical evidence is still missing. This paper closes the research gap by (a) introducing SMNRs from a conceptual perspective based on a literature review, (b) exploring opportunities and challenges for strategic communication, (c) researching empirical manifestations and modes of usage by corporations in three major international markets (United States, United Kingdom, and Germany) based on a comprehensive content analysis of the 600 largest companies and 2045 affiliated brands and subsidiaries, and (d) explaining implications for the practice of public relations.     

THE CAPITAL-STOCK DECISION OF SUBSIDIARIES

This paper examines the financial effects of centralized control on the capital-stock decision of the subsidiaries of a multinational enterprise. The approach adopted involves comparing the optimal capital stock of a firm before and after it has merged with another firm located in a different country. Using this method, it is shown that the analysis breaks down into a number of special cases.     

Interorganizational relations of nonprofit organizations: An exploratory study

In their several roles as appropriators, redistributors, and providers, nonprofit organizations are involved in complex transactions with organizations in the nonprofit, for-profit, and public sectors. The purpose of this exploratory investigation, based on a sample of New York State nonprofits, is to explain variation in the extent of intrasector and intersector transactions. Various kinds of prevailing environmental complexities, coupled with the ways in which organizations are structured to deal with these complexities, help explain variation in the extent of organizational transactions. Another important predictor is directors' perceptions of main problems affecting the activities of their agencies. These findings are consistent with the conclusion that environmental uncertainties and perceptions about them affect the nature and extent of interorganizational contact.     

Corporate and Environmental Influences on Personnel Outcomes in Organizational Labor Markets: A Cross-National Comparison of US and German Branch Offices of a Multinational Bank

Many firms competing in the current global economy are multinational corporations (MNCs) that operate across national boundaries. Multinational corporations have the dual imperatives of maintaining internal consistency among their subsidiaries while simultaneously adapting to different local environments. Comparing personnel outcomes between subsidiaries of the same multinational corporation located in different countries would provide a specific context within which we can examine the relative importance of these two imperatives. Using personnel data from a multinational bank, we compare personnel outcomes such as turnover and hiring rates, tenure distributions, proportion of part-time workers, and gender composition of its subsidiary retail banking operations in the Federal Republic of Germany and in the United States. We further analyze differences in outcomes between comparable job levels in each country, recognizing that different levels in the hierarchical structures of MNCs may face varying pressures for internal consistency and local adaptation. Our results show that the local environment has a strong effect on personnel outcomes, although differences between countries decrease at higher job levels. The possible sources and implications of increasing similarity at higher job levels is discussed.     

Child welfare workers use of knowledge in their daily work

The debate continues on what constitutes core knowledge in professional work in child welfare and child protection. The aims of this article are to examine what different sources of knowledge social workers report to use in their daily work and to determine the importance of different knowledge sources in relation to their work experience, educational background and type of employment (caseworker/manager). Data were obtained from a survey completed by 390 social workers in municipal child welfare services in Western Norway. Social workers answered questions regarding their use of different knowledge sources in their daily work. The information they obtained in a particular case and their personal experiences were the most frequently used sources. Factor analysis revealed four subgroups of knowledge sources: The most frequently used were: (a) Colleagues and Supervision and (b) Personal Experience, followed by (c) Social Work Education, Courses and Municipal and State Documents, with (d) Journal Articles, Textbooks and External Sources being the least frequently used. The most important source for social workers with less work experience was Colleagues and Supervision, whereas the factor Journal Articles, Textbooks and External Sources was more often important for social workers with a master’s degree than for those without this level of education. Overall, social workers seem to rely mostly on personal experience and their colleagues as sources of knowledge in their work.