Institutional investors: the vote as a tool of governance

Institutional investors are increasingly expected to engage with their investee companies to try to help ensure that the investee companies have an appropriate corporate governance structure and that they operate according to corporate governance best practice. There are a number of ‘tools of governance’ which institutional investors might utilise including constructive dialogue and voting. In this paper, the growth of institutional investors is discussed together with the development of the vote as one of the most powerful means that institutional investors have at their disposal. The cases of two of the UK’s largest and most active institutional investors are discussed to show how the vote is used in practice. The resolutions which tend to be the most contentious are those relating to the appointment/re-election of directors and board composition; remuneration packages and incentive schemes; and strategic issues that may impact on shareholders’ rights/ownership interests. The paper also contains an analysis of the resolutions which occur most frequently together with the average levels of dissent on such issues in various European countries: Austria, Belgium, France, the UK, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The barriers to voting that may arise are examined; such barriers include control enhancing mechanisms which are prevalent in many European countries as well as on a wider global basis.     

股权众筹投融资方的最优策略分析

分析了股权众筹融资方和投资方的最优策略.依据股权众筹的流程,构建了股权众筹过程中投融资方利益博弈的3阶段模型,并在同时满足融资方与投资方预期收益最大化的条件下,求解了相应的最优化问题并给出了投融资方最优策略的解析式.研究结果表明,在参数满足一定条件时,股权众筹投融资方均存在最优策略,且最优策略受边际收益、项目成功概率、预期回报率等因素的影响.     

Support for diversity practices in Norway: Depends on who you are and whom you have met

An increasingly diverse workforce is a reality for today's organisations in Norway, and a variety of human resource practices are being introduced in order to manage this diversity effectively. However, little is known about what leads to the successful implementation of these diversity practices. Thus, we need to find out more about what affects the willingness to implement that is held by those responsible for the process. In this study we examine how contact with minority groups, values, orientation, and individual differences relate to their perceptions and support for diversity practices. In a survey conducted with 385 Norwegian individuals employed in different organisations and business sectors across the country, we observed a relationship between positive contact experiences with individuals from immigrant backgrounds, diversity values, other-orientation, age, and gender on the extent to which the respondents were willing to support a diversity practice. Theoretical and practical implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

A blueprint for career change when you don't know what you want to do

Follow the paths of a gynecologist turned investment banker and an internist who became a medical writer. Both used a proven process to change their careers and determine what they wanted to do.     

Organization theory: Where are you?

This paper seeks to summarize the present state of organization theory. It takes as its starting-point the work of early organization theorists and demonstrates that their work has been challenged in basically four different ways, i.e. regarding the view on (a) individuals in organizations, (b) the interaction among individuals in organizations, (c) the relationship between organizations and their environments and (d) the technology of organizations. The implications of these qualifications are discussed with reference to recent literature. These discussions led to the conclusion that the number of research questions have increased rather than decreased over the years. Thus, a unified organization theory may be less valid today than at the beginning of the century. This circumstance, however, it is argued, should not be considered a regression but rather a sign of increasing insight.     

Physician leader, be careful not to let arrogance stand in for competence

At various points in your physician leadership career you may feel such a sense of mastery that you delude yourself into believing that you are better than you are. Depending on the size of your ego, that time may come sooner or later than in your peers, but, be mindful, it could come.     

The relationship between information content and institutional investors: evidence from new product preannouncements

In this study, we investigate the relationship between information content of new product preannouncements (NPPAs) and trading behaviors of institutional investors. Using hand-collected data from 1995 to 2004, in empirical results, we find that there is a significantly positive relationship between information content and institutional investors. NPPAs can help institutional investors to evaluate the potential success of forthcoming new products through signaling enough information content. As a result, more information cues and earlier NPPAs can make institutional investors choose these preannouncing firms into their investment portfolios to increase their holdings and attract more different institutional investors to hold these shares of preannouncing firms. In addition, we also find the positive advertising and R&D investment effects. Our findings suggest that managers should use the information content of NPPA signals to reduce information asymmetry and help managers to implement their NPPA strategies so as to receive greater financial support from institutional investors.     

I warn you because I like you: Voice behavior,employee identifications,and transformational leadership

Voice behavior refers to the behavior that proactively challenges the status quo and makes constructive changes. Previous studies have explored the antecedents of employees' voice behavior, but to whom employees are likely to voice their thoughts has remained rarely examined. We propose that voice behavior is target-sensitive and that there are two types of voice behavior: speaking out (voice toward peers) and speaking up (voice toward the supervisor). Transformational leadership facilitates both speaking out and speaking up. However, it produces effects on employees via different types of employee identifications. Specifically, social identification predicts only speaking out, while personal identification predicts only speaking up. In contrast, affiliative extra-role behavior is less target-sensitive, and transformational leadership influences affiliative extra-role behavior via both social identification and personal identification. We examined our hypotheses by collecting both self-reported and coworker data from 191 Chinese employees in different organizations. Our hypotheses gained general support from the data. Implications for research and practice are discussed.