Editorial

Citation

Gale, C. and Dobson, A. (2015), "Editorial", International Journal of Law and Management, Vol. 57 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJLMA-10-2014-0058

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Law and Management, Volume 57, Issue 1

First of all, a Happy New Year to everyone! We hope this first edition of 2015 will give you cause for cheer in what, at least in the hemisphere from which we write, can be a gloomy and depressing time of year.

The first article is by Chrispas Nyombi from the UK entitled “A response to the challenges posed by the binary divide between employee and self-employed”. The author’s purpose in this paper is to examine the nature of the legal relationship tying workers to employers. It explores how the individual who is categorized as an employee is distinguished from a self-employed or independent contractor or a worker. The common law tests for classifying employment status are analysed against a backdrop of emerging research literature, and recommendations for reform are provided.

Second, Clifford D Scott from the USA brings us “Lobbying: A Critical Dimension of Business Strategy”. This article prepares executives to pilot a US lobbying effort within the bounds of US Federal law. Lobbying law may be thought of as the “regulation of regulation”, as it defines the ground rules for those wishing to have a direct impact upon all other regulatory systems. The article outlines what US lobbying law requires, what it forbids and, perhaps most important, what the law does NOT regulate.

Third, Vishal Sharma from India writes of “Imperfect Work conditions in Bangladesh RMG Sector”. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on the effectiveness of labour law in Bangladesh and provide suggestions to improve working conditions in the country. After recent events, the issues referred to in this article are particularly significant.

Fourth, Li Sun and Marty Stuebs from the USA write about “Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility”. This paper draws on the stakeholder theory to examine the association between corporate governance and social responsibility and touches on some of the ideas transferrable across jurisdictions.

Last, but by no means least, we have Mohammad Alipour writing from Iran on “Determinants of capital structure: an empirical study of firms in Iran”. The aim of this paper is to investigate and explicate the determinants of capital structure of the firms listed in Tehran Stock Exchange during the period 2003-2007.

It is to be hoped that at least some of these contributions whet appetites for 2015 and are a precursor of things to come during the year!

Christopher James, Stanley Gale and Alexandra Dobson