Search results

Cultural and geographical distances create friction in multinational enterprises (MNEs), friction that indigenous firms do not experience in the same manner. This friction or liabilities of distance is conceptualized as governance costs in this chapter. Unfortunately, governance costs seem to be a rather equivocal concept, although it is one of the building blocks of internalization theory, and the raison d’être of the idea that certain kind of transactions have to be internalized to overcome the most prohibitive consequences of business activities across cultural and geographical distances. By going back to an award-winning paper, published in IBR in 2009, we put forward some nuances and reflections upon theory and findings presented in that paper, as well as upon implications and behavior of governance costs. The reason for this endeavor is grounded in the idea that theories must be challenged, empirical finding, just as well. Building upon survey data from 159 Norwegian MNEs, we explore and test six hypotheses by structural equation modeling (SEM). The results indicate that information fallacies seem to be the main driver of monitoring – and bargaining costs in the relationship between MNE HQs and their foreign subsidiaries, and thereby also the indirect driver of the observed negative effects of monitoring and bargaining on subsidiary performance. On the other hand, trust shaped by bonding activities seems to be an important factor in reducing bargaining costs and improving subsidiary performance.

This study aims to look at the relationship of external embeddedness and institutional distance (governance aspects) with the foreign subsidiary research and development (R&D) capacity. Furthermore, it examines whether these relationships are mediated by subsidiary product and process innovation, and whether institutional distance plays a moderating role in the relationship between subsidiary innovation and R&D capacity.

The authors draw on survey data from 130 foreign subsidiaries operating in Brazil and test their model using variance-based structural equation modeling.

Results suggest that subsidiary (product and process) innovation fully mediates the relationships between: subsidiary external embeddedness and R&D capacity; and institutional distance and subsidiary R&D capacity, such that the relationship is positive in case of the former and negative in case of the latter. The relationship between subsidiary product and process innovation and R&D capacity is positive and stronger at lower levels of institutional distance.

The research ignores the underlying mechanisms of the external embeddedness and institutional distance relationship with subsidiary R&D capacity. Furthermore, institutional distance based on formal governance aspects and their impacts on subsidiary innovation and R&D capacity are rarely investigated. This paper contributes with regard to these aspects.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

This study aims to examine the impact of corporate governance on the speed of adjustment (SOA) of capital structure in a developing market, Pakistan.

The study's sample includes 173 non-financial enterprises that were listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) between 2011 and 2020. The capital structure of the sample companies is determined by the ratio of total debt to total debt plus the market value of equity. Corporate governance is measured by board size, independence, CEO duality, management ownership, blockholders ownership and institutional ownership. A two-step difference GMM model was used to achieve the study's objectives.

Through applying the reduced form model approach, we discovered that corporate governance variables have a considerable negative impact on the speed of targeted leverage adjustment in sample firms. Additionally, to check the robustness of results, the two-stage technique used to examine this corporate governance-SOA relationship. Furthermore, we discovered that smaller enterprises modify their capital structure more than larger firms. Furthermore, corporations prioritize short-term debt adjustment above long-term debt adjustment.

The study's findings provide further information to company managers and investors on the relationship between corporate governance quality and the pace of adjustment towards targeted leverage across Pakistani enterprises. Furthermore, this study adds new information from growing countries such as Pakistan to the existing literature, which can help regulatory authorities and policymakers improve the quality of corporate governance. It is commonly known that improving the quality of corporate governance practices improves the firm's capital structure, which benefits all stakeholders.

In the context of developing economies, the academic literature lacks research that examine the impact of corporate governance on dynamic capital structure decisions. This study intends to fill this gap.

The purpose of this paper is to verify the impacts of the transaction costs rationale on economic agents’ innovative results when they engage in European R & D networks, supplying both firms and policymakers with empirical support for improved decision making toward economic competitiveness and construction of the European research area. Furthermore, unlike many transaction cost economics assessments, the authors evaluate the existence of transaction costs following a dynamic framework of analysis (instead of using solely ex ante governance choice as a driver of inter-firm “friction” management), offering a novel perspective on these phenomena.

Data consist of firm-level information from Eureka’s Final Reports (1995-2006) for Spanish, Italian, French, British and German firms. Empirical assessments were performed through a two-step approach of direct and indirect effects of network management and potential sources of disturbances. Ordinal regressions were applied in order to identify transaction costs’ relevance as drivers of firms’ technological and commercial outcomes, as well as on managerial quality of alliances. Statistical controls include microeconomic and project-specific variables.

Results highlight the role played by transactional aspects as drivers of companies’ outcomes and managerial complexity. Furthermore, the authors find robust evidence that formal ex ante governance structures are incapable of satisfactorily addressing dynamic disturbances that take place within R & D networks. Whereas such findings are directly related to existing transaction costs, the authors find no support for the usual variables attributed to increased complexity in international inter-firm relationships.

Self-selection issues are inherently related to the research instrument (i.e. Eureka’s Reports), while further firm-level data could not be obtained since confidentiality issues protected companies’ names and sectors. Also, network-level data are not available, allowing the evaluation of individual perceptions only.

While literature addresses the issue of transaction costs in R & D networks via theoretical assumptions and rough proxies, this assessment offers an in-depth evaluation of a set of valuable indicators with direct implications for researchers, managers and policymakers. Main contributions concern the identification of dynamic interactions (and their respective disturbances) as a key feature of the overall performance of R & D networks, stressing the non-linearity of economic processes in these hybrid relationships, an issue that has been poorly tackled by previous empirical investigations.

This study aims to explore the complex, multi-level institutional dynamics of smart city reforms and projects and their potential sustainability pressures on the implementation of a management accounting system in an Egyptian state-owned enterprise (SOE), which has a politically sensitive institutional character.

This study adds to institutional management accounting research using a multi-level perspective of institutional dynamics in the smart city context. Data were collected from an interpretive case study of an Egyptian SOE that was under socio-political sustainability pressures to implement a smart electricity network project in New Minya city.

Smart city projects have formed social and political sustainability pressures, which introduced the enterprise resource planning (ERP) network as a new management accounting system. A new (complex and multi-level) management accounting system was invented to reinvent the sustainable city as an “accounting city” (which appeared rhetorically as a “smart city”). “Smart” being the visibility and measurability of the sustainability performance of the collective body, which calls the city and its connectivity to different institutional levels brought out in a city network project for the ERP-enabled electricity distribution.

This study examines a single case study from a single smart city and identifies the accounting community’s need for multiple and comparative case studies to further analyse the potential impact of smart city reforms and projects on the sustainable implementation of management accounting systems.

City policymakers and managers may benefit from the practical findings of this interpretive field-based case study in planning, implementing and monitoring smart city projects and objectives.

Individual and collective well-being may be enhanced through new management accounting forms of multi-level local governance and increased political, field and organisational sustainability.

This study provides important insights into the sustainability dynamics of management accounting in achieving smart city reforms. The achievement of sustainability management accounting systems has connected to multiple ERP roles at different institutional levels, which resulted in accommodating the socio-political objectives of smart city projects.

This research delves into a comprehensive examination of Amazon’s Vendor Flex (VF) model, seeking to illuminate the intricacies of supply chain innovation through alliances between Amazon and its suppliers. Employing a multiple case study methodology, the study investigates the reduction of transaction costs, the establishment of strategic alliances for supply chain innovation and governance issues within these alliances.

A multiple case study methodology, incorporating personal interviews and triangulation with primary sources, was employed to unravel the dynamics of the VF model.

Results indicate that the VF model aligns with the reduction of transaction costs by leveraging Amazon’s specialized knowledge, although not necessarily through direct knowledge sharing. Amazon suppliers highlight competitive advantages gained through VF, showcasing efficient navigation of peak seasons and a focus on core activities with online retailing integration. The VF alliance represents a collaborative model where Amazon’s technological prowess enables a streamlined and innovative supply chain for online retailing, which resembles a vertical integration process.

This research underscores the potential of strategic alliances to drive innovation by incorporating industry-leading practices. The governance issues within the VF alliance reveal power imbalances, emphasizing the need for managers to govern dynamics, disclose information and build trust in large-scale alliances.

The purpose of the study is to investigate and analyze the dynamics of the government-enterprise grain joint storage mechanism, particularly, focusing on profit-driven speculative behaviors exhibited by enterprises within this context. The study aims to understand the various factors influencing the behavior of stakeholders involved in grain storage, including government storage departments, agent storage enterprises and quality inspection agencies.

The study employs a tripartite evolutionary game model to investigate profit-driven behaviors in government-enterprise grain joint storage. It analyzes strategies of government departments, storage enterprises and quality inspection agencies, considering factors like supervision costs and speculative risks. Simulation analysis examines tripartite payoffs, initial probabilities and the impact of digital governance levels to enhance emergency grain storage effectiveness.

The study finds that leveraging digital governance tools in government-enterprise grain joint storage mechanisms can mitigate risks, enhance efficiency and ensure the security of grain storage. It highlights the significant impact of supervision costs, speculative risks and digital supervision levels on stakeholder strategies, offering guidance to improve the effectiveness of emergency grain storage systems.

The originality of this study lies in its integration of digital governance tools into the analysis of the government-enterprise grain joint storage mechanism, addressing profit-driven speculative behaviors. Through a tripartite evolutionary game model, it explores stakeholder strategies, emphasizing the impact of digital supervision levels on outcomes and offering insights crucial for enhancing emergency grain storage effectiveness.