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Britain is now one of the few EC countries without some form of military representative body. Yet, probably the first military trade union was formed in the British Armed Forces in 1919. At the outset, the organisation grew rapidly with the formation of 49 branches and an estimated membership of 10,000 (Englander, 1989, p. 10). But the efforts of the Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Airmens’ Union (SSAU) to organise the armed forces and secure a right of representation were short-lived. The authorities were quick to react to the perceived socialist threat by demobilising and discharging “men who [were] largely imbued with unionism tinged with socialism” (Englander, 1989, p. 11) and, following a raid by the intelligence services on the SSAU headquarters, the union rapidly disappeared.

The plain High Dimensional Model Representation (HDMR) method needs Dirac delta type weights to partition the given multivariate data set for modelling an interpolation problem. Dirac delta type weight imposes a different importance level to each node of this set during the partitioning procedure which directly effects the performance of HDMR. The purpose of this paper is to develop a new method by using fluctuation free integration and HDMR methods to obtain optimized weight factors needed for identifying these importance levels for the multivariate data partitioning and modelling procedure.

A common problem in multivariate interpolation problems where the sought function values are given at the nodes of a rectangular prismatic grid is to determine an analytical structure for the function under consideration. As the multivariance of an interpolation problem increases, incompletenesses appear in standard numerical methods and memory limitations in computer‐based applications. To overcome the multivariance problems, it is better to deal with less‐variate structures. HDMR methods which are based on divide‐and‐conquer philosophy can be used for this purpose. This corresponds to multivariate data partitioning in which at most univariate components of the Plain HDMR are taken into consideration. To obtain these components there exist a number of integrals to be evaluated and the Fluctuation Free Integration method is used to obtain the results of these integrals. This new form of HDMR integrated with Fluctuation Free Integration also allows the Dirac delta type weight usage in multivariate data partitioning to be discarded and to optimize the weight factors corresponding to the importance level of each node of the given set.

The method developed in this study is applied to the six numerical examples in which there exist different structures and very encouraging results were obtained. In addition, the new method is compared with the other methods which include Dirac delta type weight function and the obtained results are given in the numerical implementations section.

The authors' new method allows an optimized weight structure in modelling to be determined in the given problem, instead of imposing the use of a certain weight function such as Dirac delta type weight. This allows the HDMR philosophy to have the chance of a flexible weight utilization in multivariate data modelling problems.

The purpose of this paper is to uncover the stylised facts about NZ corporate boards and identify unanswered questions about their composition, activity and incentives during the 16-year period between 1995 and 2010.

The paper uses annual report data to document the evolution of 22 NZ board characteristics. The paper also informally compares these trends with those occurring in other countries.

Unsurprisingly, the representation of non-executive, independent and female directors on NZ boards rose during the period, as did real chair and director fees and the importance of board committees, while average board size fell. Perhaps more surprisingly, much of this movement occurred before NZX governance reforms in 2003. Moreover, there are some intriguing differences between New Zealand and other, mainly larger, countries.

The analysis is largely descriptive and focuses on identifying questions rather than answering them.

The paper fills an obvious gap in the governance literature, which largely ignores small, open economies, and hence provides little clue as to the overall state and evolution of NZ boards. The paper also identifies a number of questions for further research.

The purpose of this paper is to examine an association between board demographics and corporate performance using a sample of Pakistani firms listed on the Pakistan Stock Exchange in the 2014 year.

This study is unique in that corporate performance is examined using a mixture of performance measures: accounting-based measures (return on assets), market-based measures (Tobin’s Q, earnings per share, and total return) and economic profit measures (economic value added).

The results of this research show a significant positive relationship between board size, minority representation on the board and the appointment of a family director and enhanced firm performance. However, contrary to expectations, the authors also find that instead of adding value, the appointment of independent directors to Pakistani firm boards negatively impacts firm value.

This study adds to a growing body of empirical evidence that suggests that agency theory-based corporate governance recommendations adopted in developed economies may not be relevant to emerging economy firms.

The paper seeks to examine the role of consumer representation in communications policymaking with a focus on the UK. It aims to review the role of the Communications Consumer Panel and to argue that there is an important role to play for a consumer advocate due to behavioural biases, information overload, and market failure.

The paper is based on analysis of all relevant reports and documentation published by the Ofcom Consumer Panel, as well as participant observation carried out by the author as a member of the panel. It also analyses switching data to make the case that the communications sector may be unique in terms of the low levels of switching between suppliers.

The paper finds that there is an ongoing role for a consumer advocate in media and communications and that this body should be independent of government and the regulatory agency.

The limitation of this research is that it focuses principally on only one sector, though it does reference a literature that covers other sectors, and in a paper of this length full comparison of other sectors would be impossible.

The paper suggests that the communications sector would be well served by its own separate consumer representation body and that this should have close links to, but be independent of, Ofcom.

This paper has relevance to consumer representation in communications regulation and policy in countries beyond the UK. It examines the peculiarity of the communications market and the particular difficulties consumers face in fast moving technically challenging markets.

The paper examines a particularly important sector of consumer representation at a time when policy on a new regulatory structure is being set. It offers the perspective of a researcher who has also been a member of the Consumer panel, and, as such, it provides valuable insight at a crucial time.

This paper aims to examine the relevance of boards in driving firm level performance. For this purpose, it considers firms listed on Ireland and Spain stock exchanges for the period 2005 to 2014, over a period that includes the global financial crisis.

This study uses panel data regression analysis to analyse the effects of board characteristics on performance and also uses alternate model specifications to test the significance of robustness of relationships.

The impact of board size on performance is negative and significant for Irish and Spanish firms for the study period. In general, the board independence has a positive effect on the performance of Spanish firms for the complete study period and suggests consistency with the resource dependency theory.

The analysis suggests that in general, the non-executive and the board size do not affect the corporate performance of Irish and Spanish firms during the financial crisis. The fixed effects model suggests positive effects of gender diversity on performance for Spanish firms, while the random effects indicates negative relationship between gender diversity and performance for Irish companies.

The evidence on the Spanish firms suggests that female representation on the boards may be critical during the financial crisis

The quota legislation on female board representation in Spain is yielding superior results over the soft law approach by Irish firms during the times of financial crisis period.

This study contributes to the literature on the corporate governance practices and performance of two countries that were strongly affected by the crisis in the European Union. As governments increasingly contemplate board gender diversity policies, this study offers useful empirical insights on Spanish and Irish firms.

This paper aims to investigate the moderating effects of a board of directors on foreign direct investment (FDI)’s international diversification in Turkey.

A sample of Turkish multinational firms with FDI was used. Two different aspects of international diversification were considered: the relationship between international diversification and financial performance and the moderating effect of board composition on the relationship between international diversification and the firm’s financial performance. Firm-level data were obtained from the Istanbul Stock Exchange in Turkey.

The findings reveal that international diversification leads to better financial performance according to market-based measures. On the other hand, this study indicates that the board characteristics have a moderating effect on international diversification and financial performance.

The study is based on a sample of publicly listed firms in Turkey, and this restriction limits the generalizability of the findings.

The internalization efforts of Turkish FDI have led to better financial performance in terms of market-based measures. The results have stated that the interest of independent outside directors is aligned with lower-risk investment decisions. Independence of independent outside directors in Turkey is interrogated by practitioners or the Capital Markets Board of Turkey. The larger board size which a moderator variable is provided, the wider shareholder value in Turkey is.

One can understand that the development of market-supporting institutions provides the support for entry to an emerging economy which is inefficient or incomplete markets and highly concentrated family ownership.

These findings provide important implications for corporate governance and highlight the need for further research on the role of governance in firm internationalization. This study not only helps to understand how board characteristics affect the choice of international diversification decisions, but the results also allow to assess the performance implications of these choices for a particular period.

The manner in which publicly traded companies’ management teams handle their firm’s free cash flows (FCF) has been an issue for many decades, because it is difficult to determine whether these management teams work for their own benefit or for that of their shareholders. Recent financial scandals have heightened mistrust of management. This mistrust, in turn, may have increased the pressure to reduce the portion of FCF left under management’s control. Boards of directors control dividend payout decisions, thus determining the portion of FCF available to corporate management. This paper examines whether the 2002 legal response to corporate financial reporting scandals, which came in the form of many new initiatives and requirements imposed by the Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX) on all publicly traded firms, was relevant to dividend payouts. This question is investigated by noting that the impact of these new requirements differed among firms. Some firms had already introduced the use of independent directors and fully independent committees prior to SOX making them compulsory in 2002. This paper examines whether these “pre-adopters” experienced less change in their dividend payout policies than those firms that were forced to change the composition of their board and committees.

This investigation examines the effect on dividend payouts for listed firms attributable to the SOX and concurrent changes in stock exchange regulations that compelled increased use of independent directors and fully independent committees. To study the impact of SOX and the associated, required, changes in the composition of boards of directors for many firms, the difference-in-differences methodology is employed to overcome the endogeneity concerns that have consistently challenged prior governance studies. This was accomplished by examining the effects on dividend payouts associated with the exogenously forced addition of independent directors to the boards of publicly listed firms. The results reveal that there is a significant positive relationship between firms that were compelled by law to change their boards and increases in average changes in dividend payouts and percentage changes in dividends paid, when compared to firms that had pre-adopted the Sarbanes–Oxley corporate board composition requirements. A further exploratory analysis showed that the same significant positive relationship is detected for increases in average changes in total dollars distributed, where stock repurchase dollars are combined with dividend payouts. These findings imply that these board composition changes led to decisions that increased dividend payouts in percentage terms, as well as dividend payouts and total dollars distributed in aggregate dollar amount terms.

This paper aims to examine the effect of critical mass of women managers on corporate boards on the voluntary disclosure of climate change in a developing country in which the regulations on climate change disclosure is an area of growing research interest.

This study uses logistic panel regression models with a sample of 1,001 firm-years for companies in the Borsa Istanbul 100 Index that were asked to disclose voluntary climate change indicators over the seven-year period from 2014 to 2020 through the Carbon Disclosure Project.

This paper provides evidence from an emerging country that the critical mass of women on the board has no impact on voluntary climate change disclosure. In addition, the presence of independent managers on the board was found to have a significant impact on climate change disclosure. In addition, the results show that larger companies are more likely to report their climate change activities. Large companies are more visible due to their size, are perceived by stakeholders as more polluting and are, therefore, more likely to report on the environment.

The results show that the critical mass of women on the board has no effect on voluntary disclosure of climate change. Empirical tests are still needed to strengthen the overall validity of the critical mass of at least three women on boards in Türkiye.

Despite many valuable insights provided by critical mass theory, very few studies directly address critical mass and voluntary disclosure of climate change. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first empirical and comprehensive paper in the Turkish context evaluating critical masses and voluntary corporate climate change giving a comparison between firms listed on financial industry and nonfinancial industry.

This paper examines the problems involved in developing collective bargaining in the traditionally non‐union environment of the strategically important UK offshore oil industry. In doing so it provides evidence on the success of the “new”, stakeholder industrial relations environment established by the present UK government. Drawing on an in‐depth insight into management and union strategies gained from action research, the paper documents the attempt to establish a collective agreement and a partnership approach to industrial relations in the drilling sector of the North Sea offshore oil industry, a sector which has had no previous history of unionisation. In doing the research provides evidence partnership policy, the literature on union recognition and the process of negotiation in international organisations.