Economic reforms, corporate governance and privatization method as determinants in performance changes of new privatized firms: the case of MENA countries

This paper aims to provide the determinants of how privatization works in some selected Middle East North Africa countries. Using a sample of 75 new privatized firms we examine the performance changes in countries namely Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey. We document a significant increase in profitability, efficiency and output as well as a decrease in leverage. We also identify that these improvements vary with economic reforms and environment, effectiveness of corporate governance and the privatization method used. In particular, financial liberalization and control relinquishment by the government are associated with higher efficiency and output. Furthermore, foreign participation and the use of share issue privatization as divestment method appear to have a positive impact on efficiency and output changes. Additionally, the use of private sales is related to a significant decrease in leverage. Finally our results highlight the importance of economic reforms, corporate governance and the choice of privatization method in explaining the post privatization changes in performance.     

Corporate Governance in China—Is Economic Growth Potential Hindered by Guanxi?

Despite the opening of the market and partial privatization of state‐owned companies in China, the state still represents the controlling shareholder in larger companies. By analyzing the weaknesses of Chinese corporate governance we illustrate the framework for harmful corruption. China is characterized by a weak legal system and strong influences of traditions such as guanxi. In this article we analyze the influence of guanxi on the Chinese corporate governance system. We find that guanxi is in general a double‐edged sword, but business‐to‐government guanxi in particular can harm the weak Chinese corporate governance system and hamper its further economic development and growth.     

As Public Goes Private, Social Emerges: The Rise of Social Enterprise

This article explores the relationship between social enterprise and a much-longer known set of arrangements generally comprehended as “public enterprise” (or “state-owned enterprise”). It considers the decline in some contexts in the use of, and interest in, public enterprise that reflects the impact of the privatization movement, and the rise of social enterprise as an alternative form—with speculation about cause-and-effect connections between these movements. An exploration of this sort may contribute in the longer term to a better understanding of the place of “public”, “social” and “community” values and structures within the general framework of governance.     

Do auditors’ perceptions actually help fight against fraudulent practices? Evidence from Tunisia

The purpose of this paper is focused on investigating empirically how Tunisian Auditors perceive their status regarding fraud fighting issue. In this respect, a set of auditor-associated mental representations will be expressed in terms of their respective roles as relevant governance models (legal versus ethical ones), via the cognitive mapping technique. The findings reveal that corporate governance can be globally depicted within these particular representations, indicating the supremacy of the legal governance approach over the ethical one with regard to the Tunisian case. .     

Neither Hierarchy nor Identity: Knowledge-Governance Mechanisms and the Theory of the Firm

Building on existing empirical research on knowledge transfer, sharing and integration in inter-firm and intra-firm relations, it is argued that there is little evidence and theoretical reason for assigning exclusive properties to internal or external organization, as such, in a knowledge-governance respect. A more micro framework is then theoretically developed, in which a portfolio of knowledge-governance mechanisms is evaluated according to two criteria: the cognitive `possibility' to sustain certain types of knowledge interchanges; and the comparative cost of the mechanism where more than one is applicable.The results of both the empirical and conceptual analyses conducted cast doubts on the possibility of having a `theory of the firm,' based on the deterministic presence/absence of certain attributes and the possession of exclusive properties – no matter if hierarchy or identity – and call for a more `continuous' (rather than `discrete') and `combinative' (rather than mutually exclusive) notion of governance forms.     

民营上市公司集团治理与终极控制人侵占效应分析

本文以民营上市公司为样本,采用2002-2004年的面板数据,针对民营上市公司中普遍存在的集团治理现象,理论分析并实证检验了集团治理的各因素对终极控制人行为的综合影响.研究发现,在集团治理条件下,随着控制权和现金流权偏离程度的增加,终极控制人采取具有侵占效应的行为的激励越强.而上市公司的治理结构能够对这一影响起到调节作用,其中,股权结构中的内部股东集团比例增加会强化侵占效应的激励;董事会结构中外部董事比例的增加会抑制终极控制人的侵占效应行为.本文的经验证据表明,在对民营上市公司集团治理结构加强监管的同时,正确认识外部董事的作用、强化董事会的独立性并完善内部机制能够取到良好的治理效果.     

Privatization and National Development: A Case Study of Ghana

Proponents of privatization claim that privatization can enhance efficiency, reduce public sector debt and consequently improve overall economic performance. However, in many developing countries, and Africa in particular, the evidence is mixed. An exploratory study is done from the perspective of citizens’ about the impact of privatization on the Ghanaian national economy. The findings of the study suggest that: 1) the privatization program is pro rich; it benefits the economic and political elites more than it benefits the nation as a whole; 2) there is a high level of corruption associated with the privatization process; and 3) Privatization is not considered as one of the most important tools needed for national development, though the survey finds that many respondents believe that there is the need for some reforms in the public sector to promote national development. The results of the study indicate that administrative and political problems cannot be overcome simply by reducing the size of the state bureaucracy, but rather making government more accountable in meeting the needs of its people.     

The substitution of governance mechanisms in the evolution of family firms

This paper examines how family firms substitute corporate governance with family governance and self-governance at different stages of their development. We argue that the types of agency problems that family firms face as they pass from one generation to the next determine the extent to which these mechanisms can be used as substitutes for one another. Our empirical investigation provides evidence that in the early stages of a family firm's life cycle, instruments of self-governance lessen the need for mechanisms of corporate governance, whereas in the later stages, instruments of family governance can substitute for mechanisms of corporate governance.     

Governance and performance of MFIs: the Cameroon case

The main challenge of microfinance institutions and social economy firms remains their survival, and to meet this challenge, MFIs need to be competitive. The poor performance of MFIs is usually attributed to their decision-making and operational processes. The governance of MFIs is therefore identified as one of their main risks. Despite this, governance is still little explored in these organizations and empirical studies find a weak relationship between classical governance mechanisms and MFI performance, especially for the MFIs situated in Africa (Thrikawala et al. in Asian J Financ Account 5(1):160–182, 2013a). In this study, we examine whether the effect of governance mechanisms on the performance of MFIs differs according to their legal status in the Cameroonian context. On the one hand, our empirical results show that there is a significant relationship between some specific governance mechanisms and MFIs’ performance. On the other hand, adjusting the governance mechanisms according to the MFIs’ legal status improves their efficiency. The analysis of the impact of the governance mechanisms on the performance of MFIs requires not only an approach that is specific to this sector but also an approach that is adapted to their legal status. Moreover, from a managerial point of view, it would be desirable to adjust the governance mechanisms, depending on the legal status of the MFIs, to make them more efficient from the social as well as the financial standpoint.     

Managing C-suite conflict: The unique impact of internal and external governance interfaces on top management team reflexivity

The ability of Top Management Teams (TMTs) to reflect critically on their own actions represents an important element of effective TMT decision making and governance effectiveness. This paper therefore examines how the TMT-board interface internal to the organization, as well as the TMT interface with the external supervisory authority, shape TMT reflexivity. Drawing from governance and psychological theories, we posit that cognitive conflict at the TMT-board interface can escalate by increasing levels of affective TMT-board conflict, and hereby, harm TMT reflexivity if not managed well. This proposition was tested in a multisource team-level data set collected in the field among TMTs (N = 111 TMT members) and their supervisory boards (N = 152 board members) of 56 Dutch insurance companies. The findings demonstrate that the link between cognitive and affective TMT-board conflict is mitigated by board membership influx. Yet in cases where conflict escalation does occur, its subsequent impact on TMT reflexivity hinges on the degree to which an external supervisory authority monitored TMT actions. The results illustrate that TMT decision making processes can be effectively influenced by internal and external TMT-governance interfaces, yet at different conflict stages, and through different governance actions.     

基于演化博弈的农村环境治理众筹机制研究

农村环境治理已经成为乡村振兴战略的一项重要任务,仅依靠政府单一治理主体无力应对全国70多万行政村的环境治理需求,发挥农户治理主体作用成为一种新的农村环境治理机制。本文将众筹模式引入环境治理中,采用演化博弈理论,在公平贡献和利他偏好两种情景下,分析有限理性农户决策行为演化动态,研究风险发生概率、亲环境偏好、团体效用、初始财富、融资目标、众筹份额等对环境治理众筹融资成功的影响。研究发现：公平贡献和利他偏好两种情形下,考虑环境污染给农户初始财富带来风险时,当初始财富期望损失、团体效用与声誉损失之和大于参与众筹的支出时,参与环境治理众筹成为农户的演化稳定策略。风险发生的概率越大、初始财富越多、参与众筹获得的群体认同价值越大、不参与时声誉损失越大,越有利于参与众筹策略成为农户的演化稳定策略。而在公平贡献模式下,当初始财富期望损失、团体效用与声誉损失之和小于参与众筹的支出时,农户群体中会出现不参与和不参与环境治理众筹两种策略共存的稳定均衡状态。通过对农户参与环境治理众筹成为演化稳定策略的内在机理分析,为农村环境治理众筹融资实践提供决策参考。     

Beyond the Disciplinary Role of Governance: How Boards Add Value to Spanish Foundations

Due to the significant role of non‐profit organizations in the development of modern societies, these organizations must adjust their boardrooms. Since traditional theories of corporate governance appear to be limited in explaining the changing non‐profit world, we propose an extended model of governance that integrates the traditional arguments of agency theory with a cognitive dimension. Based on a sample of Spanish foundations, we present evidence on the effect of the board composition on foundations' organizational efficiency. We show that board size and independence do not have a definitive effect on the entity's efficiency. Instead, the knowledge diversity inside the boardroom and the active character of trustees have a positive influence on resource allocation. The cognitive dimension of the extended model of governance is critical to explaining how boards impact on organizational performance.     

控制权、租金保护与组织形式

本文首先扩展了Bennedsen和Wolfenzon的模型,分析了多个大股东并存的股权结构达到稳定性需要的条件,并发现了在法律制度不是很完善的情况下低成本的替代治理机制的存在才可能促进该种股权结构实现稳定。然后结合士兰微从建立至今12年股权结构演变的深度案例证明了适当的替代治理机制可以使得多个大股东并存的股权结构达到稳定的状态这一结论 ;但是,这种机制的选择也受到我国的制度背景和法律环境的影响。     

社会资本嵌入视角的电子废弃物回收治理研究

本文首先分析了电子废弃物回收行为的演化进程,指出由政府主导型向企业主导型,最后向利益相关者共同治理型转变的趋势。进而将社会资本划分为结构维与认知维两个变量,运用聚类分析、方差分析与回归分析对假设进行初步验证,并运用结构方程模型探究社会资本、治理行为与持续参与意愿三者间的整体关系。结果表明,社会资本对治理行为与持续参与意愿均有正向影响,三种治理行为均起到正向中介作用。特别地,缺乏政策强制力的认知维社会资本与激励行为对持续参与意愿的正向影响有限,而具有强制力性质的结构维社会资本与指导行为则作用明显。最后,结合政策强制力比号召性行为更有助于提高持续参与意愿的特点,本文指出电子废弃物回收产业发展的管理启示:管理者应及时发布行业发展指导意见,规范产业链主体经营行为;产业链主体需注重社会资本的积累与运用;利益相关者必须树立价值共创的理念,实现利益相关者共同治理。     

公司内部控制权的配置状态、寻租主体及治理机制分析

文章深入分析了作为公司治理效率基础的内部控制权配置,不仅考虑到了股东的投票权及其顺延的控制权特征,还注意到了人力资本带来的控制权。在此基础上总体考察股东、董事会和经理层的控制权配置状态及权力主体之间的关系,然后依据董事会层面控制状态的不同,分类剖析不同控制权配置模式的寻租主体和重要的治理机制,以期对公司控制权配置状况与治理机制之间的关系做较深入的诠释,为我国公司控制权配置提供一些启示。     

组合与单一治理对供应链信息系统价值创造的影响

针对供应链中契约与信任、权威与信任之间的治理作用是互补还是替代关系的争论,对不同治理机制选择与供应链信息系统价值创造的关系进行梳理,运用博弈分析方法探讨组合与单一治理机制选择对供应链信息系统价值创造的影响,通过25家企业的实地调查对博弈分析结论进行讨论.研究表明,当环境不确定性较高时,采用契约与信任、权威与信任组合治理比采用单一契约或权威治理对供应链信息系统价值创造的促进作用更大;当环境不确定性较低时,采用契约与信任、权威与信任组合治理比采用单一信任治理的促进作用更大;当环境不确定性处于中间状态时,难以确定上述组合与单一治理两者的优劣.     

Revisiting corporate governance through the lens of the Spanish evidence

The purpose of this study is to illustrate the characteristics of the Spanish corporate governance system and especially describe the diffusion of each mechanism among listed firms, in comparison with other industrialized countries. In doing so, we identify idiosyncratic traits of the Spanish corporate governance model that points up how the dichotomy between outsider- and insider-oriented models is simplistic and does not fit with the Spanish context. We argue, instead, that corporate governance has evolved in Spain towards a hybrid model that is situated in an intermediate position between the two aforementioned systems. The result of this hybridization is a system characterized by a new role for the state as a regulator, the presence of large blockholders, and a higher free float of capital on the stock market. Still, it is a very weak market for corporate control, and has reduced incorporation of Anglo-Saxon practices such as information transparency, board independence, or variable compensation packages for the management.     

动态环境下联盟竞合、治理机制与创新绩效的关系研究

本文从竞合视角审视联盟组合,结合动态关系观探讨有效的联盟治理机制,揭示了联盟组合中竞合关系(横向竞合、纵向竞合)、治理机制(契约治理、关系治理)和创新绩效之间的关系,并考察了动态环境特征(技术波动、竞争强度)的二次调节作用。在不同的竞合关系中,由于合作和竞争的强度不同,契约治理与关系治理机制的作用也存在差异,同时,治理机制与创新绩效之间的关系也受到两种不同环境动态性特征的影响。研究结果显示,在纵向竞合中,运用关系治理比运用契约治理能更好地提升创新绩效,技术波动正向调节契约治理、关系治理与创新绩效间的关系。在横向竞合中,运用契约治理比运用关系治理有效,竞争强度加强了契约治理对创新绩效的影响,即关系治理在波动的环境中更有效,契约治理在竞争的环境中更有效。本文为企业开展研发联盟组合管理提供了新的视角和管理对策。     

Capital structure,managerial ownership and firm performance: evidence from Egypt

This paper focuses on an important issue, which has generally received less attention in corporate governance literature, being the effect of managerial ownership on the relationship between debt and firm performance. By employing a sample of Egyptian listed firms, the generalized least squares method, as a panel data technique, is used to examine the joint effect of debt and managerial ownership on various measures of firm performance (i.e., Tobin’s q and ROA). The results reveal that managerial ownership moderates the relationship between debt and firm performance, with the relationship being negative (positive) in presence (absence) of managerial ownership concentration. The implication of this finding is that the optimal capital structure is more likely to be contingent on contextual variables as well as the roles, power, and stakes of key internal and external actors. Put simply, the effectiveness of one corporate governance mechanism (i.e., debt) is more likely to be contingent on the effect of other existed corporate governance mechanisms, and hence, there is not one best arrangement of either capital structure or ownership structure, but different arrangements are not equally good.     

企业现金持有量影响因素的实证研究——来自我国上市公司的经验证据

20世纪90年代末,国外企业出现持有大量现金与现金等价物的现象,为什么企业持有大量的现金与现金等价物,以及企业持有现金的后果等问题,逐步得到国外学者的关注而成为一个研究的热点,国外学者主要从权衡理论、信息不对称理论、公司治理机制,以及投资者的法律保护程度等方面展开现金持有量的研究.由于我国的经济与制度环境同国外有很大差别,我国证券市场的发展处于一个转型时期,内部人控制严重,资本市场还不完善,国外的实证结论直接移植到国内缺乏说服力.上市公司现金持有量的影响因素也逐步得到国内学者的关注,但我国的研究还处于起步阶段.本文在理论分析与文献梳理的基础上,以我国部分上市公司为样本,检验了我国上市公司的特质性因素和公司治理机制对公司现金持有量的影响.研究结果表明,公司现金持有量与财务杠杆、银行性债务、净营运资本负相关,与公司的投资机会正相关,权衡理论和优序融资理论得到了经验支持;国有股、董事会规模、股东保护程度与现金持有量负相关;经营者持股与现金持有量正相关;股权集中度、独立董事、以及领导权结构并没对公司现金持有量产生显著影响.本文从现金持有量的角度为我国上市公司治理的不完善性提供了证据,需要我们从股权结构、董事会特征等方面进一步完善公司治理机制,规范公司的现金持有行为.