Contextualist-retroductive case study design for strategic asset management research

Abstract

This paper develops a tailored case study design for strategic asset management research. It draws on the notions of ‘contextualist approach’ and ‘retroductive strategy’ used in case study research, and follows the multiple embedded-case design advocated within qualitative research. Using a published asset management research study as a primer, it demonstrates the application of the proposed research design and its methodological rigour. This research design could serve as a reference framework, as well as a research instrument, for guiding asset management research. As such, it facilitates the development of theory that accounts for the multi-faceted nature and current priorities of asset management. Overall, this research design helps determine what activities to be incorporated into an asset management program to enhance an organization’s ability to capture value from its operations system. In so doing, it promotes a holistic perspective on asset management that is currently lacking in the literature.     

公平偏好视角下的专利联盟企业创新行为演化研究

专利联盟的专利交叉许可机制使专利具有了公共品属性,在无有效机制引导下,部分企业搭便车行为必然会影响其他成员持续研发的积极性,不利于联盟稳定发展。本文在公平偏好视角下,构建了专利联盟企业公共品博弈模型,通过利用费米规则在MATLAB上模拟专利联盟企业创新行为演化过程,分析了联盟企业创新行为内在动机,并进一步引入惩罚机制,探究其对联盟企业创新行为演化过程的影响。结果表明：当嫉妒参数与羞愧参数之比低于某一阈值时,整个联盟才能呈现出稳定的高研发水平。在利己倾向的公平偏好情景下,在公共品回报乘数越高,却越会刺激搭便车;而在利他倾向的公平偏好情景下,当专利公共品回报乘数增加并超过阈值时,会促使整个联盟企业努力研发,此时许可收益增加也更有利于提高企业努力研发积极性,而且当存在联合惩罚机制时,惩罚也更有效果,但惩罚系数与惩罚成本之比必须大于某一阈值,才能抑制企业搭便车行为。最后提出了在专利联盟管理实践中促进企业积极创新的建议。     

CONTROL RIGHTS IN COMPLEX PARTNERSHIPS

This paper develops a theory of the allocation of authority between two players who are in a complex partnership, that is, a partnership which produces impure public goods. We show that the optimal allocation depends on technological factors, the parties’ valuations of the goods produced, and the degree of impurity of these goods. When the degree of impurity is large, control rights should be given to the main investor, irrespective of preference considerations. There are some situations in which this allocation is optimal even if the degree of impurity is very low as long as one party’s investment is more important than the other party’s. If the parties’ investments are of similar importance and the degree of impurity is large, shared authority is optimal with a greater share going to the low‐valuation party. If the importance of the parties’ investments is similar but the degree of impurity is neither large nor small, the low‐valuation party should receive sole authority. We analyze an extension in which side payments are infeasible. We check for robustness of our results in several dimensions, such as allowing for multiple parties or for joint authority, and apply our results to interpret a number of complex partnerships, including those involving schools and child custody.     

资产结构、资产效率与企业价值

在委托代理模型和生产函数的基础上,利用股东最大化剩余推导了生产效率参数的求解方法。以此为基础,主要研究了资产结构与资产效率、资产效率与企业价值之间的关系。利用1999-2006年期间存在管理层持股745个企业年数据,发现在资产结构与资产效率、资产效率与企业价值之间存在"倒U型"规律,但管理层持股比例与企业价值存在正U型关系。因此可以得出资产结构能够影响生产效率和企业价值的结论。     

Taipei,Taiwan: A transformational learning event: Reflecting on the 4th Asian Conference of Academy of Human Resource Development

Abstract

The 4th Asian Conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development held in Taipei, Taiwan, nurtured new learning, networking and international integration. As we reflected upon the experience in Taiwan, the realization was evident that we now view the world from a global perspective. We no longer look at the world through our own country's lenses. Through participation in this transformational learning event, the way we see the world and ourselves has changed as well as enriched our HRD knowledge.     

基于异质价格信念的金融资产泡沫形成机制

假设风险资产未来价格变化由其过去价格变化外推形成,基于现金流股息冲击提出一个新的资产价格泡沫模型研究金融资产泡沫形成机制、提炼其内在特征、获得金融市场稳定发展的相关启示。假设异质价格信念投资者具有常绝对风险规避效用偏好,基于期望效用模型获得基本面投资者和外推型投资者的最优风险资产需求函数;进一步,假设外推型投资者在资产交易过程中部分关注风险资产基本价值,修正其最优风险资产需求函数,在市场出清状态下获得资产价格泡沫模型;基于模型参数设定模拟金融资产泡沫形成机制,并结合金融市场证据分析其内在特征;最后,从投资者异质性和无风险资产收益率层面设定参数值对比讨论影响金融资产泡沫强弱程度的因素。结果表明：在正的现金流股息冲击下,外推交易行为导致金融资产泡沫,且具有滞后性;金融资产泡沫具有典型的三阶段特征,量价齐升是金融资产泡沫产生的显著标志;无风险资产供给是金融资产泡沫的抑制器;投资者结构及其价格信念差异与金融资产泡沫的强弱程度密切相关。研究不但为金融资产泡沫形成机制提供了一个分析框架,而且为金融市场稳定发展提出相关决策参考。     

A vision of re-distributed manufacturing for the UK’s consumer goods industry

Abstract

The linear production of consumer goods is characterised by mass manufacture, multinational enterprises and globally dispersed supply chains. Redistributed manufacture (RDM) is an emerging topic, which seeks to enable a transition of the current linear model of production and consumption, by taking advantage of new technologies. This paper aims to explore the challenges, opportunities and further research questions to set a vision of Redistributed manufacturing for the UK’s consumer goods industry. To set this vision, a literature survey was conducted followed by a qualitative enquiry where PESTLE¹ aspects of RDM were analysed. This analysis was interpreted through a roadmap. As a result of this roadmap, four RDM characteristics (i.e. customisation, use of digital technologies, local production and the development of new business models) were identified. These characteristics helped to set the future vision of RDM in the UK’s consumer goods sector.     

Effects of Executive Characteristics and Venture Capital Involvement on Board Composition and Share Ownership in IPO Firms*

Combining the agency perspective, resource‐based view and upper echelon research, this paper examines factors affecting board selection and share ownership in initial public offerings (IPOs). In line with socio‐cognitive and behavioural research, it shows that board independence, cognitive capacity and the incentives of non‐executive directors are negatively associated with the experience and power of executive directors, and that large‐block share ownership is positively associated with the intensity and diversity of non‐executives' experience. However, the retained equity by venture capitalists negatively affects board independence and non‐executive directors' interests. The paper suggests a number of avenues for a future contextual analysis of the board development process in ‘threshold’ firms.     

The Other Side of Ownership in Nonprofit Organizations: an Economic Rationale for Democracy

Going beyond the deeply examined non-distribution constraint, which refers to the right to residual income, the paper investigates the other side of ownership, i.e. the right to residual control, to discover a general economic rationale for what we call “democracy”: a collective decision-making method based on the principles of equality and inclusiveness. The main result of the analysis is to point to the concept of perfect democracy as an efficient solution for the provision of public goods where other allocative mechanisms, such as the marketplace, fail.     

Beating the virus: an examination of the crisis communication approach taken by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the Covid-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic has severely tested the leadership and communication abilities of political leaders globally. Guiding an effective response to the global pandemic has required leaders to demonstrate not only effective planning and coordination skills, but the ability to communicate clear consistent messages in an empathetic manner as well. In New Zealand the first confirmed case of Covid-19 was recorded on February 28 and over the course of March and April 2020, 1,132 further cases of Covid-19 were confirmed and 19 deaths – a much lower transmission rate than most industrialized nations. On 27 April 2020, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced that they had won the battle against community transmission of Covid-19. This paper analyses the speeches and public statements (n = 40) made by Prime Minister Ardern in March and April 2020 through the lens of crisis leadership and crisis communication. In particular, it looks at the use of different mediums (parliamentary statements, daily briefings, Facebook Live broadcasts and podcasts) as mechanisms for engaging in narrative and dialogue with the public. The paper underscores the importance of communication in crisis management and looks at how positive and consistent messaging inspires confidence and social solidarity.     

次大股东对过度投资影响研究——基于中国上市公司的经验证据

以我国2010年上市公司为研究对象,从次大股东的视角研究了次大股东对公司过度投资的作用。通过实证研究发现:在绝对控股股权结构下,次大股东不能对控股股东的投资行为发挥有效的监督作用;当次大股东为机构投资者时,不能减缓公司的过度投资现象。将负债分为高低2组,在高负债率组中,次大股东不能减缓公司的过度投资行为;在低负债率组中,次大股东能促进公司的过度投资行为。由此,我国上市公司的次大股东不能减缓公司的过度投资,其治理作用未能发挥。     

Does Ownership Form Matter for Corporate Social Responsibility? A Longitudinal Comparison of Environmental Performance between Public,Private, and Joint‐venture Firms

This study examines whether a firm's ownership form has any influence on its social performance. Conventional wisdom suggests that public (publicly traded) corporations are more susceptible to corruption and socially irresponsible behavior than privately owned corporations because of the intense short‐term profit maximization pressure from shareholders and the lack of sufficient monitoring mechanisms. This study introduces an alternate perspective in thinking about the relationship between ownership form and corporate social responsibility. This study reasons that public corporations are more likely to become socially responsible because of their greater exposure to external influence and greater dependence on external actors with diverse interests. Using a panel data on the pollution management practices of 118 industrial facilities over a 13‐year period, this study shows that public corporations were indeed subject to greater external pressure to reduce pollution, and the pressure led to consistently stronger environmental performance.     

DOES RELATIONSHIP SPECIFIC INVESTMENT DEPEND ON ASSET OWNERSHIP? EVIDENCE FROM A NATURAL EXPERIMENT IN THE HOUSING MARKET

In this paper, I test the most basic prediction of Grossman and Hart (1986, The Costs and Benefits of Ownership: A Theory of Vertical and Lateral Integration. Journal of Political Economy, 691–719): allocations of asset ownership that expose a party to ex‐post expropriation reduce this party’s ex‐ante relationship‐specific investments. In the empirical context of the German housing market, I find that relationship‐specific investments, such as bathroom renovations, are more frequent if the occupant is protected against expropriation because he owns his home. To avoid the endogeneity of the homeownership allocation, I rely on the natural experiment of the German reunification: under the communist regime, ownership existed but was economically meaningless; yet after reunification, ownership unexpectedly reacquired legal force.     

所有权结构与影响因素分析

本文以821家上市公司1999-2001年的观察值为样本,研究分析了一些决策公司所有权结构的要素,即公司价值最大化规模、潜在控制和系统管制,并引入公司的特殊风险等作为与不稳定考核的因素.本文的研究发现公司所有权结构的变化,始终以与价值最大化相一致的方式进行,受管制公司所有权的平均集中程度比其他公司更重要,公用事业类公司的所有权结构受管制的影响比金融业更大.本文的研究为国有股减持和股权多元化提供了经验证据.     

On the impact of collaborative strategies for goods delivery in city logistics

Abstract

City logistics refers to the process of total optimisation of the logistics and transport activities in urban areas while considering economic, environmental, social and safety aspects. This paper considers a collaborative scenario for the urban goods transport planning and management as a way to reduce transport costs, congestion and environmental impact of this activity. An approach from the Operations Management field, using mathematical modelling, for tactical and operational decision-making is proposed to discuss and compare both collaborative and non-collaborative scenarios. This approach is validated using real data taken from the city of Bogotá, Colombia. Results put in evidence the quantitative benefits that can be achieved when collaborative logistics operations are implemented, represented in both transportation costs and environmental impacts. Although these results might not be surprising (like in the field of supply chain management), the contribution of this paper is centred in the fact that the impacts of collaboration in city logistics have not yet been quantified until now. This allows an ‘ex ante’ evaluation of the benefits of collaborative goods transport in cities.     

DISTRIBUTIONAL INCENTIVES IN AN EQUILIBRIUM MODEL OF DOMESTIC SOVEREIGN DEFAULT

Europe's debt crisis resembles historical episodes of outright default on domestic public debt about which little research exists. This paper proposes a theory of domestic sovereign default based on distributional incentives affecting the welfare of risk‐averse debt and nondebtholders. A utilitarian government cannot sustain debt if default is costless. If default is costly, debt with default risk is sustainable, and debt falls as the concentration of debt ownership rises. A government favoring bond holders can also sustain debt, with debt rising as ownership becomes more concentrated. These results are robust to adding foreign investors, redistributive taxes, or a second asset.     

不完全契约、资产专用性与最优企业所有权安排

不完全契约和资产专用性引致了交易中的敲竹杠问题,带来生产成本和交易成本的上升。由于人力资本的产权特征,企业内也存在敲竹杠问题,因而最优的企业所有权安排必定是能使敲竹杠问题总成本最小化的结构。通过比较,本文认为,由非人力资本所有者和人力资本所有者共同拥有企业所有权是最优的。     

土地制度的供求冲突与其改革的框架性安排

中国农村社会和农业经济向城市社会和工商业经济转型,计划经济向市场经济转轨,以及可持续发展和西部大开发,对土地制度的供给及其功能提出了特殊的需求。就目前来看,两种公有、高度集中和行政色彩较浓的土地所有和配置制度与结构转型和市场经济的要求发生了尖锐的冲突,特别是土地集体所有的虚无性衍生出一系列的经济社会问题。据此,本文提出了中国土地制度改革的框架性安排:土地的两种公有制并轨,国家拥有所有土地的终极所有权,分解国家所有的占有、使用、处置等权力,实行较长的使用年期财产权制度,农民和一部分国有企业的土地使用年期财产与社会保障挂钩,发挥市场配置土地资源的基础性作用,政府管理主要用来弥补市场配置土地资源的缺陷。     

Complementarities and Substitutabilities in Franchise Contracting: Some Results from the German Franchise Sector

According to the property rights approach,decision rights have to be allocated accordingto the distribution of intangible knowledge assetsbetween the franchisor and franchisee andownership rights have to be assigned according to theresidual rights of control (residual decisionrights). Since residual income rights are diluted infranchising relationships, ownership rightsinclude not only residual income rights (initial fees androyalties) but also complementary ownershipsurrogates to simulate the motivation effect of undilutedownership rights. Therefore, under a propertyrights perspective, an efficient contract structure infranchise relationships implies co-locationbetween knowledge assets and decision rights andcomplementarity between residual decision andownership rights. The more important the franchisor's(franchisee's) system-specific assets (localmarket knowhow) for the generation of residual surplus, themore decision and complementary ownership rightsshould be transferred to the franchisor(franchisee). Three hypotheses were derivedfrom the property rights approach and tested in the Germanfranchise sector. The empirical results arepartly supportive of the hypotheses.