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Momentum returns are considered an anomaly in the finance literature as their existence cannot be fully explained under the asset pricing paradigm. This study attempts to shed more light on this anomaly by investigating the determinants of momentum returns.

The panel data technique is applied to the sample of 40 countries worldwide from 1996 to 2018. The authors use the panel-corrected standard error (PCSE) model to estimate the coefficient of World Governance Indicators (WGI), whereas the fixed effect model is used to determine the coefficient for corporate governance indicators (CGIs). The choice of PCSE estimation methods is guided by the fact that WGI variables are subjected to serial correlation, heteroskedasticity and cross-sectional dependence problems while CGI variables are not. Furthermore, a composite WGI index is constructed using principal component analysis (PCA).

Regression analysis shows a negative and significant relationship between WGI index and momentum returns. The negative coefficient value of WGI supports the prediction of the overreaction hypothesis, which postulates a lower behavioral bias in the market with high governance quality. Breaking down of the WGI by their six indicators reveals that four of the indicators (control over corruption, government effectiveness, stability and avoidance of violence) are negative statistically significant with momentum returns while two indicators are not significant. As for CGIs, only one (strength of investor protection) of the four tested indicators is negative and significantly related to momentum returns.

The study fills the gap in economic literature by highlighting the association between governance quality at the country (WGI) and firm level (CGI) on stock momentum returns.

The purpose of this study is to assess how intergovernmental panel on climate change’s (IPCC’s) sixth assessment report of Working Group I (WGI), a Summary for Policymakers (SPM), has evaluated the current climate change situation. The author uses the qualitative content analysis (QCA) method (i.e. summative content analysis [SCA]) to identify critical points of the SPM.

To better understand the WGI report and its SPM, the author uses the thematic analysis, often called the QCA method. This study takes more steps and uses one of the main qualitative content analysis approaches (i.e. SCA). Therefore, QCA (SCA) can help the author count the occurrence of certain words using computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software that quantifies the words in the data. This process helps the author to understand codes and patterns (e.g. the concept in the results section).

Interestingly, the AR6 says more about adaptation for policy makers in sections C (Climate information for risk assessment) and D (Mitigation of future climate change) than in sections A and D. Finally, this study concludes that the IPCC WGI SPM has addressed evidence on global climate change policymaking for SPMa, SPMd (mitigation-based strategies and mitigation policy [MP]) and SPMb, SPMc (adaptation policy and adaptation-based strategy).

First, this study refers only to the contribution of WGI, a SPM. The findings of this study do not necessarily provide a full understanding of what the AR6 WGI SPM says about climate change. It points out that the QDA Miner software and Voyant tool do not include all variables and examples where mitigation and adaptation-based strategies are discussed. The guidance for coding is based on the approved version of IPCC AR6 WGI SPM. The final limitation is that the relatedness of key words (e.g. confidence, high and warming) is sometimes ambiguous; even experts may disagree on how the words are linked to form a concept. Thus, this method works at the keyword level. A more intelligent method would use more meaningful information than keywords.

This study used qualitative data analysis (SCA) to explore what was said about climate change in four sections of the IPCC AR6 WGI SPM, which may influence current and future global climate change policymaking.

Institutions and culture as well as their distance between home and host countries matter for international business activities. Yet, the exact nature of this influence is still not fully understood. In this chapter, we develop the concept of institutional and cultural compatibility and propose empirical measures of both to contribute to our understanding in this regard. We argue that the institutional and cultural profiles of home and host countries can create synergies that facilitate bilateral foreign direct investment (FDI) flows (that is being compatible) even if they are characterized by high distances. We apply our measures of compatibility to a sample of bilateral FDI flows between 127 host and 122 home countries over 12 years.

Many recent studies have highlighted the importance of quality of governance and institutions for economic performance. According to New Institutional Economics, the quality of governance and institutions is a fundamental precondition for sustained increases in prosperity, well-being, and territorial cohesion. The quality of governance influences people’s health, their access to basic services, social trust, and political legitimacy. Governance encompasses the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is exercised, and its performance can be measured. In this chapter we use the World Bank’s measure Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI). The aim of the chapter is to highlight the variation of the quality of government between regions of Scandinavia and South East Europe and to analyse recent changes in South East Europe. Not surprisingly, Scandinavian regions outperform all other EU regions in quality of government, and the situation has been stable over time. In South East Europe, the situation has improved, although at a slow pace. Whereas the rule of law and government efficiency seem to be steadily increasing, the fight against corruption has been less successful.

Innovation has been considered as an essential activity for companies to compete in modern and dynamic business environments. For the nations, innovation is considered a fundamental key activity for sustaining economic growth and competitive advantage over other countries. This paper aims to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between the quality of a country’s institutions and its levels of innovation activities and results.

Controlling for the effects of the efforts and investments in research and development (R&D) and the foreign direct investments (FDI), this work proceeds to regression analysis to obtain the association between the quality of countries’ institutions and their innovation activities. Data was obtained from the Global Innovation Index (GII) for innovation activities and the Worldwide Governance Index, of the World Bank, for the quality of institutions for 127 countries.

The results show that the effectiveness of public administration and the regulatory quality are the quality of institution variables associated with the innovation activities. Also, this paper obtained a clustering of countries with a rank regarding not only innovation activities but also the conditions of the institutions’ quality, based on government effectiveness, regulatory quality, R&D, FDI and GII. This new compounded classification divided the 127 countries into three clusters – mature innovators, fresh innovators and structuring for innovation.

New forms of innovations’ ranking viewing can help to understand the conditionings that enhance countries’ and institutions’ competitiveness.

The purpose of this paper is to determine if the institutional quality of developing countries (DCs) and least-developed countries (LDCs) contributes to a significant increase in the utilization rate of the Swiss generalized system of preferences in the agro-food sector.

The authors use state of the art regression techniques accounting for zero values to identify if the institutional quality – separately depicted by the Worldwide Governance Indicators, the Index of Economic Freedom and the Human Development Index – can contribute in overcoming non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to trade.

The institutional quality exerts a consistent positive effect on the level of utilization of trade preferences.

Swiss food trade represents, of course, only a very small share of world trade, therefore it would be worthwhile to extend the analysis to other countries and sectors.

Industrialized countries’ development policies should more strongly focus on capacity building in DCs and LDCs to strengthen trade-related institutions.

The study focuses on an often underemphasized element in international trade relations – the role of the institutional quality in overcoming NTBs to trade.

Research from numerous theories shows teams' information sharing and discussion enhances effectiveness. Likewise, team communication structure can increase information sharing, manage conflict productively and foster creativity. However, the lack of unifying theory hinders understanding of the disparate research findings. Agazarian aims to unify the field with her meta‐theoretical, multi‐level Theory of Living Human Systems (TLHS). Furthermore, her TLHS‐derived Systems‐Centered Training (SCT) presents an innovative structure to improve team performance. The purpose of this paper is to compare the verbal process, productivity, and creativity of pre‐existing work groups using SCT methods or Robert's Rules of Order (RRO), to test TLHS/SCT reliability and validity.

The verbal characteristics, information sharing, productivity, and creativity in SCT and RRO teams were compared using the System for Analyzing Verbal Interaction (SAVI), Group Productivity Scale and Work Group Inventory.

SCT teams, compared to groups using RRO, talked in ways more likely to transfer and integrate task‐related information. Furthermore, SCT teams were more productive, better performing, and more creative.

The study's design does not permit cause‐and‐effect conclusions. Proposals for future research are made.

The results suggest SCT methods improve team communication, productivity, and creativity. Because this study examined “real‐world” teams, the findings may apply to similar groups in various workplaces.

Having the ability to use differences as resources could improve society.

This paper suggests SCT methods offer innovative communication structures that focus teams effectively, perhaps by minimizing off‐task communications and conflict. Also, as SCT operationally defines TLHS, these results support the validity of TLHS.

The chapter examines why growth in African economies between 1996 and 2016 appears not to have led to improvements in the key governance indicators (GIs) of government effectiveness, rule of law and control of corruption. Comparative data from other continents are presented to provide a contextual perspective for the case of Africa. The central research question is why has the continent been witnessing economic growth in real terms but simultaneously regressive movements in these three key indicators of governance which are central to the concept of ‘development’ itself? The data span the period from 1996 to 2016 inclusive using the WGI database of the World Bank for 171 countries including 43 African countries. The country sample is selected to ensure the same countries are included in the WGI database across all years of the sample period. The data are analysed numerically in terms of relative and absolute deviations and graphically. The results demonstrate a clear trend in several continents of worsening GIs while real economic growth has been positive. However, the distribution of this negative trend is highly skewed towards the African countries in the sample. The findings suggest that, despite real growth, economic and social development (in the widest sense) is actually regressing in many countries. We offer alternative theoretical explanations for this (apparent) contradiction and a number of possible policy solutions. The data are from the WGI database and all efforts have been taken to ensure its reliability in this analysis. Although there are small differences in how indicators have been measured, these do not seriously affect the underlying trends found in the data. A new approach to establishing value for money in public sector organisations is suggested which at the same time will help strengthen public accountability, transparency and efficiency in the delivery of the government services to the general public. The chapter may provide a new or a different perspective on how societies should perceive government and its various agencies in order to raise accountability. The chapter is conceived from a very old debate: growth versus development but argues that the latter is almost impossible in the absence of good governance and provides analytical evidence as the basis for this conclusion.