bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
What emerges when a market emerges?
Authors: Lozano Josep M.
Published: August 2011

Purpose

What emerges when a market emerges? Does giving emphasis to the term emerging markets not represent a form of economic reductionism, neglecting the social context in which a market emerges? In this respect, CSR can be seen as a contribution from the business community, one that does not separate the economic and social dimensions in this process. However, more global approaches are needed to face today's challenges and to reflect on the criteria to be borne in mind. This paper seeks to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

For this reason, the paper feels it might be useful to respond to the question posed in the title, in dialogue with Pope Benedict XVI's latest encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (CV). The latter represents one of the few current attempts to provide a global and integrated view, incorporating specific guiding values and criteria for action. This paper is thus divided into three parts entitled: in times of globalization and crisis: integral human development as a criterion; the CSR challenge: the company, sustainability and the common good; and the continuing challenge of business in society.

Findings

The main finding is that CV's contribution may be to provide criteria to analyze what one has to bear in mind when talking about emerging markets without reducing this vision merely to economic terms. It is necessary to consider criteria such as: integral human development; the common good; inter‐generational justice; the cultural context; ethics integrated within the economy and moral responsibility. All of these are fundamental.

Originality/value

This paper questions the message, which is sometimes oversimplified in the case of emerging markets, to the extent that it forgets the social context. Dealing with this omission allows one to present new challenges both as part of these countries' CSR agendas and in the call for both local and global governance.
Corporate social responsibility and corporate financial performance in China: an empirical research from Chinese firms
Authors: Chen Honghui , Wang Xiayang
Published: August 2011

Purpose

Although the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and financial performance has become a hot topic of the Western management community after several decades of arguments, there is still little empirical literature about the relationship between Chinese companies' CSR and financial performance. According to the investigation of Chinese companies, this paper aims to use stakeholder theory to answer this question.

Design/methodology/approach

A theoretical framework is proposed based on the stakeholder theory by defining nine kinds of stakeholders and viewing the companies taking CSR as giving responses to the interest requirement of these stakeholders. Some agent variables are also set to depict CFP. Subsequently, this paper uses the data collected in 2007 and 2008 from Chinese firms to explore the relationship between CSR and corporate financial performance (CFP) empirically.

Findings

The results show that companies' social responsibility activity can improve their financial performances of the current year, have significant effects on their financial performances of the next year, and vice versa. The variation of CSR and financial performance can also significantly influence each other.

Originality/value

This research integrates the factors of time delay and cause‐effect with the relationship of CSR and CFP, and then provides theory support for companies taking CSR.
Corporate social responsibility practices in India: approach, drivers, and barriers
Authors: Arevalo Jorge A. , Aravind Deepa
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to examine how corporations in India interpret corporate social responsibility (CSR). Focusing on four commonly known approaches: the ethical, the statist, the liberal, and the stakeholder approach, the paper seeks to investigate the reported drivers and barriers to implementing CSR practices.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper surveyed top‐level managers of a sample of companies currently engaging in a CSR initiative, representing a variety of industry sectors.

Findings

The study finds that the CSR approach that is most favored by Indian firms is the stakeholder approach and that the caring or the moral motive, followed by the strategic or profit motive, are important drivers for Indian firms to pursue CSR. Further, the results indicate that the most significant obstacles to CSR implementation are those related to lack of resources, followed by those related to the complexity and difficulty of implementing CSR.

Research limitations/implications

The study focuses on the activities of leading Indian firms participating in the UN Global Compact (GC), thereby restricting one's knowledge of CSR practices of non‐participants. Future research should expand on this effort either by conducting comparative studies of non‐participants to the GC, or by investigating CSR practices of firms engaging in other voluntary initiatives.

Originality/value

The majority of studies on CSR are still embedded in the economic and organizational contexts of Europe and the USA. This research aims to address this gap by focusing on the CSR framework of developing nations, particularly the emerging market of India.
Measuring the impacts of NGO partnerships: the corporate and societal benefits of community involvement
Authors: Hansen Erik G. , Spitzeck Heiko
Published: August 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to address partnerships between corporations and non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) dedicated to corporate community involvement (CCI). It seeks to focus on how to measure both business and community benefits derived from CCI, especially stressing the need for developing indicators beyond the input level considering outputs and impacts.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper follows a case study research strategy in a subsidiary of a multinational chemical and pharmaceutical company. Data collection is based on triangulation of data using interviews, action research, and documents.

Findings

Based on the case study presented, it was found that, when CCI is an integral part of corporate strategy, it is also possible to develop advanced performance measurement systems for CCI. Such measurement systems include input, output, and impact level metrics for both community and business benefits. Community benefits are best developed and monitored in collaboration with the NGO partner. Further, it was found that the measuring frequency partly transcends conventional reporting periods.

Practical implications

The research should motivate companies that engage in corporate community involvement to go beyond input‐level metrics in measuring the success of such initiatives. However, in order to successfully operate a performance monitoring on output and impact levels, partnering with an NGO that has greater capability in socio‐economic assessments is key.

Originality/value

This paper shows how NGOs can contribute to performance measurement as part of the strategic performance management system of a corporation and how this allows for metrics beyond common input‐level to address output or even impact‐level metrics.
How relevant is corporate governance and corporate social responsibility in emerging markets?
Authors: Peters Sanjay , Miller Mariah , Kusyk Sophia
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The principal aim of this research is to provide an in‐depth analysis of existing practices of corporate governance in mature markets and to compare and contrast these approaches with CG and CSR practices in emerging markets, given the growing influence of EMs on the global economy.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology employed in the study is to survey the main theoretical approaches for understanding and CG in relation to mature markets and EMs.

Findings

The paper makes a small but important contribution to theory building by modifying and expanding the conceptual framework put forward by Weimer, Pape, Gedjlovic, and Shapiro to make a distinction between systems of corporate governance and particularly the “taxonomy of systems of corporate governance”. This is achieved by identifying an additional set of key variables specifically relevant to EMs as a group of countries. The main finding of the paper is that there is no comprehensive, “one size fits all” global corporate governance or CSR system, based on western codes and regulations that can be implemented in emerging markets.

Originality/value

It is proposed that alternative corporate governance systems that reflect the institutional realities of emerging economy settings must be taken into account. The recognition of such alternative standards and codes in the way businesses are organized is original and valuable in practical as well as in social terms for both western investors and EMs. The paper is heretic in that it questions conventional wisdom, which views the OECD‐prescribed best governance practices as applicable to EMs.
The strategic relevance of corporate community investments
Authors: Condosta Luca
Published: August 2011

Purpose

This paper aims to understand which strategies a multinational can adopt in emerging countries where it operates towards local communities, in terms of sustainability.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is the result of a two‐year research, conducted through multiple case studies, with a special focus on emerging markets (Brazil, South Africa, Pakistan, India, Argentina), and the professional experience of the author as international stakeholder engagement manager in ENI.

Findings

The research identified a 2×2 matrix with four possible strategies coming from the multiple case study analysis and depending on the internal focus of CSR and the external perception of business through local communities. The research also shows how a company can adopt a portfolio of those strategies.

Practical implications

This paper presents a model to be adopted by multinationals both to have the picture of their situation at a certain date and to plan their interventions in emerging countries.

Originality/value

In the literature of CSR there is still an area to be developed, which is the application of CSR concept in emerging countries.
Making the most of corporate social responsibility reporting: disclosure structure and its impact on performance
Authors: Vurro Clodia , Perrini Francesco
Published: August 2011

Purpose

Examining a three‐year disclosure experience of a sample of Fortune 100 global companies, the paper aims to propose and test a model that relates the structure of CSR disclosure to corporate social performance. Based on the results obtained, it proposes to draw implications for emerging economies.

Design/methodology/approach

Combining content analysis of CSR reports and corporate social performance data, the paper built a longitudinal dataset starting from the population of worldwide companies included in the AccountAbility Rating between 2004 and 2007. Longitudinal regression analysis is performed on a final sample size of 114 firm‐year observations involving 38 firms over a three‐year period.

Findings

The paper finds evidence that the level of disclosure does not improve firm ability to manage stakeholders. However, a finer‐grained analysis of the structure of disclosure shows that better social performers are those who increased the breadth of their disclosure to stakeholders and uniformly distributed disclosure across stakeholders.

Research limitations/implications

Results provide an empirical test for the theories describing true responsible economic actors as those who are able to combine high engagement with the social context of reference and balanced coverage of diversified interests. However, the study suffers the usual limitations of content analysis‐based research, as well as exclusively relying on CSR disclosure by large corporations.

Practical implications

Findings suggest not only the importance of structuring the report in a comprehensive way, and extending coverage to multiple stakeholders and related issues, but also the need for balance between informative needs, thus avoiding concentrated structures. Accordingly, companies that report on more themes, presenting a balanced and comprehensive product, develop a better ability to manage their stakeholder network, thus gaining higher corporate social performance.

Originality/value

The study seeks to revisit the relation between CSR disclosure and corporate social performance, answering the request for more rigorous measures. It goes beyond the level of disclosure as a comprehensive proxy of firm‐stakeholder dialogue and demonstrates how a finer‐grained analysis of the structure of disclosure can be a better predictor of superior performance.
CEO perspectives: management education in a changing context
Authors: Gitsham Matthew
Published: August 2011

Purpose

This paper seeks to make a contribution to debate regarding the place of sustainability in the management education curriculum with data regarding the opinions on this question of business leaders across both developed and emerging markets.

Design/methodology/approach

The analysis in this paper was conducted at the invitation of the secretariat of the UN PRME, led by a team from Ashridge and EABIS, supported by Accenture, and presented for the first time at the 2nd Global Forum for Responsible Management Education convened by the UN in New York in June 2010. The analysis draws on data collected by Accenture as part of the UN Global Compact‐Accenture CEO Study 2010, which included in‐depth interviews with 50 CEOs, Chairpersons and Presidents of UN Global Compact member companies and an online survey of 766 Global Compact member CEOs.

Findings

Among CEOs of those organizations that have begun thinking in a sophisticated way about trends relating to sustainability, there is a growing consensus across both developed and emerging markets, and across different industries and organization type, that management education is one of the most important elements in stimulating the kind of organizational change required to effectively address those trends.

Practical implications

The data suggest that debate in business schools about whether or not sustainability is a real issue deserving of their consideration is becoming less relevant. Questions that become more important include: how to do management education for sustainability well? And how can we effectively stimulate the kind of organizational change that needs to occur in business schools for sustainability to be embraced across the faculty?

Research limitations/implications

Areas for further research include empirical research on both the most effective pedagogical approaches for management education for sustainability, and the most effective strategies for organizational change for sustainability within business schools themselves.

Originality/value

This paper presents a snapshot of business leader opinion from the first part of 2010, and thus complements earlier similar surveys of business leader opinion on the question of the place of sustainability in the management education curricula. This will be of particular interest to administrators and teaching faculty within business schools across both developed and emerging markets.
Assessing local partnerships: an organisational perspective
Authors: Sorrentino Maddalena , Simonetta Massimo
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to assess, from an organisational perspective, the internal efficacy of public policies designed to stimulate voluntary inter‐municipal partnerships. In particular, it sets out to assess the capacity of such incentive‐based policies to push the councils in the direction desired by the legislator, i.e. service sharing and joint policymaking.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative approach (exploratory case study) has been adopted. Primary data from semi‐structured interviews with administrators and public managers were collected and analysed along with secondary data on the inter‐municipal partnerships established in the important Italian region of Lombardy. The critical contingencies and conditions that shape local voluntary collaborations are compared with the assumptions of a model developed by Montjoy and O'Toole.

Findings

The paper questions the assumption that access to additional resources is enough to induce the councils to collaborate in service sharing and joint policymaking. While, on the one side, the councils' organisational and managerial limitations condition their willingness and capacity to forge long‐term relationships, on the other, the pressure on councils tasked with partnership implementation (especially the aggregation leaders) and the effort to ensure the orchestration of the activities and joint decision making lead them to opt for the less structured forms of cooperation (e.g. bilateral agreements). The most binding and ambitious collaborative forms are also those exposed to risks, including stagnation and goal displacement.

Originality/value

Unlike the mainstream studies on local partnerships, the paper addresses the policies that incentivise the setting up and development of such initiatives. The paper further develops the use of a model that policymakers will find a valuable aid in predicting agency responses to external mandates and in identifying the different types of potential implementation pitfalls.
Social enterprise: evaluation of an enterprise skills programme
Authors: Denny Simon , Hazenberg Richard , Irwin Wray , Seddon Fred
Published: August 2011

Purpose

Evaluation of employment skills programmes (ESP) delivered by work integration social enterprises (WISEs) for the benefit of young people not in employment, education or training (NEET) is often undertaken by the programme providers. This method of evaluation often lacks objectivity and academic rigour and tends to focus exclusively onoutput. The purpose of this paper is to reveal programmeoutcomebenefits for NEET participants after completing a six‐week ESP, delivered by a WISE. The study highlights the participant perspective and adds an objective dimension to programme evaluation through an innovative, inductive evaluation process.

Design/methodology/approach

The research adopted an intervention method, within a qualitative paradigm, employing semi‐structured interviews conducted pre‐ and post‐participant engagement in the ESP. NEET participants were also asked to complete questionnaires designed to measure general self‐efficacy and attitude to enterprise. The questionnaires were introduced in order to test the suitability of this type of questionnaire with NEET groups in future larger‐scale studies.

Findings

Analysis of the interview data revealed ten overall participant perception themes: “experience”, “self‐confidence”, “the programme”, “perceived barriers” and “maturity” at Time 1 and “experience”, “self‐confidence”, “the programme”, “enterprise” and “future” at Time 2. Outcomebenefits are demonstrated through differences in participant perception themes revealed at Time 1 and Time 2. Relationships between participant perception themes and questionnaire constructs are discussed in the context of future larger‐scale evaluations.

Originality/value

Adopting an intervention method employing semi‐structured interviews, allowed the participants to articulate theoutcomebenefits that were important for them rather than merely providing affirmation of the programme provider's expectations.
Counting social change: outcome measures for social enterprise
Authors: Ruebottom Trish
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to identify important elements of the evaluation and definition of success in social entrepreneurship. It considers previous approaches and the lessons that can be learned from other fields of organizational studies.

Design/methodology/approach

The method used is based upon an objective and subjective, social constructionist view of organizational success. The paper reviews the fields of strategy, organization theory, entrepreneurship and innovation to identify relevant frameworks, measures, definitions of success, and the implications of the choice of success measures on our understanding of various phenomena.

Findings

From this perspective, it becomes apparent that how success and failure are defined is based on assumptions about the value of social enterprise and the nature of social change. In order to develop a deeper understanding of the drivers of social enterprise, there must be experimentation with a rich complement of success measures that are not limited to the triple bottom line.

Practical implications

The paper is of use to social enterprise researchers, practitioners and consultants who are defining what it means for a social enterprise to be successful. The insights should allow for a more conscious evaluation of a range of potential success measures and the impacts they have on our social outcomes.

Originality/value

Although measuring social enterprise success is recognized to be an important topic, most work in the field implicitly or explicitly identifies success based on a goal‐centred evaluation of the triple bottom line. The paper challenges this thinking to include subjectivity, causation, contestation, organizational form and the multiple polar dimensions that must be balanced by every organization. It draws on research from related fields that have already struggled with these issues and can offer valuable lessons for social enterprise.
Effectiveness comparison of the residential property mass appraisal methodologies in the USA
Authors: Chun Lin Chung , Mohan Satish B.
Published: August 2011

Purpose

Quite a few statistical and artificial neural network (ANN) models have been developed for the mass appraisal of the real estate by the municipalities. The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a research conducted to compare the prediction accuracy of the three most used models: multiple regression model, additive nonparametric regression, and ANN.

Design/methodology/approach

The three models were developed using the housing database of a town with 33,342 residential houses. In this database, the cutoff point for higher priced homes was $88 per square foot of living area.

Findings

The research confirmed that using statistical and ANN models are reliable and cost‐effective methods for mass appraisal of residential housing.

Originality/value

It was found that any of the three models can be used, with similar accuracy, for lower and medium‐priced houses, but the ANN is considerably more accurate for higher priced houses.
Detecting and validating residential housing submarkets
Authors: McCluskey William J. , Borst Richard A.
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to describe a segmentation technique based on geostatistical modeling methods utilizing geographically weighted regression (GWR) to identify submarkets which could be applied within the mass appraisal environment.

Design/methodology/approach

Given the spatial dimension within which neighbourhoods/submarkets exist, this paper has sought to utilize the geostatistical technique of GWR to identify them.

Findings

The efficacy of the procedure is established by demonstrating improvements in predictive accuracy of the resultant segmented market models as compared to a baseline global unsegmented model for each of the study areas. Optimal number of segments is obtained by measures of predictive accuracy, spatial autocorrelation in the residual errors and the Akaike information criterion.

Research limitations/implications

The three datasets used allowed for an evaluation of the robustness of the method. Nonetheless it would be beneficial to test it on other datasets, particularly from different regions of the world.

Practical implications

Many researchers and mass appraisal practitioners have established the benefit of segmenting a study area into two or more submarkets as a means of incorporating the effects of location within mass valuation models. This approach develops the existing knowledge.

Social implications

The research ultimately is developing more accurate valuation models upon which the property tax is based. This should create an environment of fair and acceptable assessed values by the tax paying community.

Originality/value

The contribution of this work lies in the methodological approach adopted which incorporates a market basket approach developed through a process of GWR. The importance of the research findings illustrate that submarket segmentation need no longer be an arbitrary process.
European real estate equities: ownership structure and value of the firm
Authors: Niskanen Jaakko , Rouhento Jussi , Falkenbach Heidi
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The relationship between ownership structure and firm value has long been of interest in the academic society. The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between European real estate investment trusts' (REITs) ownership structure and the observed firm value as measured by market‐to‐book (M/B) ratio. In addition, the potential effects of differing REIT ownership structures on other financial ratios, such as return on equity (ROE) and return on assets (ROA), are analyzed. Finally, the potential impact of strategic/insider ownership on REITs is assessed.

Design/methodology/approach

Several “difference between means” tests are run. In each test, the studied group of REITs is divided into three groups according to set criteria. Then, the potential differences observed between the groups are documented, analyzed and reported. Finally, statistical significance of the potential differences among groups is tested.

Findings

First, consistent with the previous studies, this study shows that increasing REIT block ownership results in lower M/B ratios as well as decreased dividend yield, ROE and ROA. In other words, the results suggest that, in terms of M/B ratio, the markets value REITs with low block holdings slightly higher than those with more block holders. However, the relationship is not totally explicit. Second, the relationship between strategic/inside ownership and firm value (and other financial measures) is somewhat obscure. The effects of strategic ownership are an interesting topic, also in terms of potential future research.

Practical implications

One of the fundamental ideas behind REIT legislation is to provide investors with a liquid means of investing in indirect real estate by regulating the ownership structure of the vehicle. The results of this study suggest that the more dispersed the shareholder structure, the higher the firm value, potentially due to increased stock liquidity. This finding could serve as an indication to lawmakers that the REIT ownership regulations not only work in theory but in practice, too.

Originality/value

For the first time in an academic context, the relationship of European REIT ownership structures and firm value is studied in‐depth. Proven scientific methods are employed to discern potential, yet unrevealed patterns between REIT ownership and firm value.
Brownfield redevelopment features: applying Fuzzy Delphi
Authors: Glumac Brano , Han Qi , Smeets Jos , Schaefer Wim
Published: August 2011

Purpose

A brownfield site is well described by various definitions and the idea to redevelop it is supported by identifying numerous benefits for the society. Further, the existing literature covers a broad range of different aspects of the brownfield redevelopment thus elaborating different features. At present, there is no overview of the brownfield features from the real estate development perspective focusing on the physical, legal and financial aspects of a site and property. This paper aims to address these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

At first, this paper contributes with the literature survey after which the features were structured according to the real estate development perspective. Additionally, the authors distinguish different expert groups and show the importance of keeping apart their aggregated opinions. Fuzzy Delphi technique is considered as an excellent method to gather such diverse panel data since it supports expert diversity in its procedure and calculation. Additionally, this method captures the uncertainty due to the human factor in valuation and thus improves the validity of the features quantification.

Findings

The survey was among the experts grouped by the specific goals and tasks. This paper presents the findings how the different expert groups value the brownfield features relevant for development potential and what they are.

Originality/value

The paper aims to contribute to the complex decision‐making process in brownfield redevelopment by identifying, structuring and rating the most relevant features of development potential. The authors introduced the method that highlights the importance of rigorous procedure for the panel data collection and advances the weighting of the features. This is of particular importance for the field of the real estate development appraisal since the present features or variables influence the future marketability and cost of a development. Missing these features seriously endangers the appraisal. A similar threat can influence any econometric model recently extensively used in policymaking.
Importance analysis of travel attributes using a rough set‐based neural network
Authors: Golmohammadi Alireza , Shams Ghareneh Naser , Keramati Abbas , Jahandideh Behrouz
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the tourism management literature by: first, developing a hybrid neural network that will be able to predict tourists' overall satisfaction of their travel experience; and second, prioritizing the travel attributes based on their proportional impact on tourists' overall satisfaction of their travel experience in Iran.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 1,870 questionnaires were distributed amongst foreign tourists in the departure lounge of “Imam Khomeini International Airport” over a period of three months. The data were used to develop a hybrid neural network in which the “rough set” is used to reduce travel attributes and the neural network to predict tourists' overall satisfaction of travel experience. After the model proved its predictive accuracy, using the sensitivity analysis of the neural network travel attributes were prioritized based on their impact on tourists' overall satisfaction.

Findings

The results were quite promising in that the proposed hybrid neural network was able to predict tourists' overall satisfaction with a relatively low amount of error (RMSE=0.05246). Furthermore, it was demonstrated that rough sets theory is capable to be applied effectively to feature selection of large datasets in the tourism context. Finally, it was found that “improving tourism infrastructures of the country” in addition to “globally promoting the image of Iran” (as a secure and pleasant destination) are of the highest priority for Iran's tourism industry to reach to its full potential.

Originality/value

Besides developing a data mining tool which is an efficient means for predicting tourists' overall satisfaction, the paper's findings provide precious information for tourism policy makers in Iran by prioritizing those travel attributes that have the greatest impact on foreign tourists' overall satisfaction of their travel experience.
Does corporate governance affect restatement of financial reporting? Evidence from China
Authors: Zhizhong Huang , Juan Zhang , Yanzhi Shen , Wenli Xie
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the impact of corporate governance on financial restatements in China, with a view to providing reference to strengthen the corporate governance and improve the quality of financial information.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors investigate associations between financial restatements and corporate governance via a sample of 1,147 listed companies from the period of 2002 to 2006, which includes 880 annual accounting restatements by 465 companies. Logistic model is used to regress restatement dummy variable on not only the equity and board structure, but also the quality of independent auditors. The restatements in this paper are caused by performance‐related accounting errors.

Findings

It was found that accounting misstatements related to performance could be prevented or restrained by strong internal governance, such as a board of higher percentage of outside directors and an audit committee that could oversee the accounting and financial reporting process on behalf of all shareholders, and outside governance, such as a big stockholder and a strong outside auditor from the Big4 accounting firms. However, the matched test shows the effect of audit committee on controlling restatements is endogenous, which relies on the effects of other governance factors.

Originality/value

In China, studies on the impact of corporate governance on financial restatements are few and the existing empirical researches show the selected samples are small, which constitute small part of the revision of accounting errors. In this paper, the data are more accurate and comprehensive than previous research and matched sample method was used to alleviate the impact of endogeneity of some explanatory variables. So, the conclusions are more reliable than in the past.
Ownership‐control rights divergence, government intervention and choice of capital structure
Authors: Zuoping Xiao
Published: August 2011

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to empirically test how ultimate controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence and government intervention affect choice of capital structure (CS), and how the relationship between controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence and choice of CS is affected by government intervention.

Design/methodology/approach

Integrating the institutional background of China, the paper adopts balanced panel data containing related continuously obtainable information of 1,076 non‐financial companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2004 to 2008 (a total of 5,380 observed values), and applies a series of generalised least squares to empirically test how ultimate controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence and government intervention affect choice of CS, and how the relationship between controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence and choice of CS is affected by government intervention.

Findings

The empirical evidence provided by this paper indicates that: controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence is negatively correlated with leverage; government intervention is positively correlated with leverage; and government intervention will weaken the negative relationship between controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence and leverage, and make debt capital suppliers (especially financial institutions like banks, etc.) provide loans, especially long‐term ones, to companies with high ownership‐control rights divergence.

Originality/value

So far, it is still little‐known how ownership‐control rights divergence affects choice of CS and how government intervention affects the relationship between ownership and control rights divergence and choices of CS. This paper is the first to test how ultimate controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence and government intervention affect choice of CS, and how the relationship between controlling shareholders' ownership‐control rights divergence and choice of CS is affected by government intervention based on the institutional background of China.
Two‐dimensional governances and industrial international competitiveness
Authors: Linqing Liu , Liwen Tan , Haiyan Ma
Published: August 2011

Purpose

Massive increases in international trade and investment extend industries beyond national borders, so states and enterprises have become the two critical players in the boundary of industries. The purpose of this paper is to provide a new conceptual framework to analyze the role of states and enterprises in enhancing the industrial international competitiveness (IIC).

Design/methodology/approach

Being a research‐based paper, the topic is approached by theoretical analysis and conceptual development. The paper reviews IIC literature and argues for a rational study ICC in the context of global value chain. Next, the paper puts forward a two‐dimensional governance model and five typical governance systems of the industries of developing countries. Examples of typical governance system are given based the practice of Chinese industries, such as appeal, rare earths, automotive, etc.

Findings

This paper constructs an industrial two‐dimensional governance model of the developing countries in the context of global value chain based on the interaction between industry governance and market governance, and also presents five typical governance systems – free to market, public governance, industrial governance, joint governance and network governance. Different governance system reflects different roles of states and enterprises played in the global value chains and result in different IIC in the end.

Research limitations/implications

The limitation is based primarily on methodology. The two‐dimensional governance model provides target‐oriented guidance for foresting international competitiveness of different types of industries. Future studies should include more in‐depth case studies on different governance system.

Originality/value

The paper presents a framework of the industrial two‐dimensional governance model, which emphasizes the important role of both states and enterprise in the IIC in the context of global value chain.
Nonlinear impacts of climatic variability on the density‐dependent regulation of an insect vector of disease
Authors: Chaves Luis F. , Morrison Amy C. , Kitron Uriel D. , Scott Thomas W.
Published: August 2011

Aedes aegypti is one of the most common urban tropical mosquito species and an important vector of dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever viruses. It is also an organism with a complex life history where larval stages are aquatic and adults are terrestrial. This ontogenetic niche shift could shape the density‐dependent regulation of this and other mosquito species, because events that occur during the larval stages impact adult densities. Herein, we present results from simple density‐dependent mathematical models fitted using maximum likelihood methods to weekly time series data from Puerto Rico and Thailand. Density‐dependent regulation was strong in both populations. Analysis of climatic forcing indicated that populations were more sensitive to climatic variables with low kurtosis, i.e., climatic factors highly variable around the median, rainfall in Puerto Rico, and temperature in Thailand. Changes in environmental variability appear to drive sharp changes in the abundance of mosquitoes. The identification of density‐independent (i.e., exogenous) variables forcing sharp changes in disease vector populations using the exogenous factors statistical properties, such as kurtosis, could be useful to assess the impacts of changing climate patterns on the transmission of vector‐borne diseases.
Intestinal epithelium is more susceptible to cytopathic injury and altered permeability than the lung epithelium in the context of acute sepsis
Authors: Julian Mark W. , Bao Shengying , Knoell Daren L. , Fahy Ruairi J. , Shao Guohong , Crouser Elliott D.
Published: August 2011

Mitochondrial morphology and function are altered in intestinal epithelia during endotoxemia. However, it is unclear whether mitochondrial abnormalities occur in lung epithelial cells during acute sepsis or whether mitochondrial dysfunction corresponds with altered epithelial barrier function. Thus, we hypothesized that the intestinal epithelium is more susceptible to mitochondrial injury than the lung epithelium during acute sepsis and that mitochondrial dysfunction precedes impaired barrier function. Using a resuscitated feline model of Escherichia coli‐induced sepsis, lung and ileal tissues were harvested after 6 h for histological and mitochondrial ultrastructural analyses in septic (n = 6) and time‐matched controls (n = 6). Human lung epithelial cells (HLEC) and Caco‐2 monolayers (n = 5) were exposed to ‘cytomix’ (TNFα: 40 ng/ml, IL‐1β: 20 ng/ml, IFNγ: 10 ng/ml) for 24–72 h, and measurements of transepithelial electrical resistance (TER), epithelial permeability and mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨ) were taken. Lung epithelial morphology, mitochondrial ultrastructure and pulmonary gas exchange were unaltered in septic animals compared to matching controls. While histologically intact, ileal epithelia demonstrated marked mitochondrial ultrastructural damage during sepsis. Caco‐2 monolayers treated with cytomix showed a significant decrease in mitochondrial ΔΨ within 24 h, which was associated with a progressive reduction in TER and increased epithelial permeability over the subsequent 48 h. In contrast, mitochondrial ΔΨ and epithelial barrier functions were preserved in HLEC following cytomix. These findings indicate that intestinal epithelium is more susceptible to mitochondrial damage and dysfunction than the lung epithelium in the context of sepsis. Early alterations in mitochondrial function portend subsequent epithelial barrier dysfunction.
Comparative iTRAQ proteome and transcriptome analyses of sweet orange infected by “Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus”
Authors: Fan Jing , Chen Chunxian , Yu Qibin , Brlansky Ronald H. , Li Zheng‐Guo , Gmitter Frederick G.
Published: August 2011

Citrus Huanglongbing (HLB) has been threatening citrus production worldwide. In this study, a comparative proteomic approach was applied to understand the pathogenic process of HLB in affected sweet orange leaves. Using the isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) technique, we identified 686 unique proteins in the mature leaves of both mock‐inoculated and diseased ‘Madam Vinous' sweet orange plants. Of the identified proteins, 20 and 10 were differentially expressed in leaves with and without symptoms of HLB (fold change > 2.5), respectively, compared with mock‐inoculated controls. Most significantly, upregulated proteins were involved in stress/defense response, such as four miraculin‐like proteins, chitinase, Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase and lipoxygenase. Microarray analysis also showed that stress‐related genes were significantly upregulated at the transcriptional level. For example, remarkable upregulations of miraculin‐like proteins and Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase transcripts were observed. Moreover, the transcriptional patterns of miraculin‐like protein 1 and Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase were examined at different stages of HLB disease development. Combined with the transcriptomic data, the proteomic data can provide an enhanced understanding of citrus stress/defense responses to HLB.
Generalized Haber's Law for Exponential Concentration Decline, with Application to Riparian‐Aquatic Pesticide Ecotoxicity
Authors: Bogen Kenneth T. , Reiss Richard
Published: August 2011

A simple analytic solution to the dynamic version of Haber's law was derived, conditional on a specified toxic load exponent (n) and on exponential decline in environmental toxicant concentration. Such conditions are particularly relevant to assessing ecotoxicity risk posed (e.g., to juvenile salmonids) by agricultural organophosphate (OP) pesticides that are subject to degradation and/or dissipation. A dynamic Haber's law model was fit to previously published detailed data on lethality for two aquatic species induced by six agricultural OP pesticides, and more crude fits were obtained to less detailed data on five other OP and on two non‐OP pesticides, indicating that for lethality, a range of 0.5 ≤ n ≤ 1.5 may be typical for OP pesticides. The AgDRIFT® stream deposition model was next used to establish that first‐order or exponential loss, with dilution half‐times on the order of ≤0.01 days, pertains approximately to pesticide residues in streams that arise after aerial application of agricultural pesticides 100 feet upwind. The analytic model was then applied to demonstrate that pesticide concentrations deposited in downwind streams following an aerial application are effectively diluted by about 50‐ to 300‐fold from their initial concentration. Riparian ecotoxicity risk assessment models that ignore this effective dilution, and base pesticide‐specific estimates of reduced survival on the initial concentrations, are therefore unrealistically conservative.
Predicting Treatment Effect from Surrogate Endpoints and Historical Trials: An Extrapolation Involving Probabilities of a Binary Outcome or Survival to a Specific Time
Authors: Baker Stuart G. , Sargent Daniel J. , Buyse Marc , Burzykowski Tomasz
Published: August 2011

Summary Using multiple historical trials with surrogate and true endpoints, we consider various models to predict the effect of treatment on a true endpoint in a target trial in which only a surrogate endpoint is observed. This predicted result is computed using (1) a prediction model (mixture, linear, or principal stratification) estimated from historical trials and the surrogate endpoint of the target trial and (2) a random extrapolation error estimated from successively leaving out each trial among the historical trials. The method applies to either binary outcomes or survival to a particular time that is computed from censored survival data. We compute a 95% confidence interval for the predicted result and validate its coverage using simulation. To summarize the additional uncertainty from using a predicted instead of true result for the estimated treatment effect, we compute its multiplier of standard error. Software is available for download.
Validity of bipolar disorder hospital discharge diagnoses: file review and multiple register linkage in Sweden
Authors: Sellgren C. , Landén M. , Lichtenstein P. , Hultman C. M. , Långström N.
Published: August 2011

Sellgren C, Landén M, Lichtenstein P, Hultman CM, Långström N. Validity of bipolar disorder hospital discharge diagnoses: file review and multiple register linkage in Sweden.

Objective:  Hospital discharge registers (HDRs) are frequently used in epidemiological research. However, the validity of several important psychiatric diagnostic entities, including bipolar disorder, remains uncertain. Hence, we aimed to develop an optimal algorithm for register‐based identification of DSM‐IV‐TR bipolar disorder.

Method:  We identified potential cases in the Swedish national HDR using two separate discharge diagnoses of bipolar disorder according to ICD versions 8–10 during January 1, 1973 to December 31, 2004. In a randomly selected subsample of 135 cases from the county of Sörmland, two senior psychiatrists reassessed the diagnostic status based on patients’ medical records. We scrutinized false‐positive cases and modified the initial algorithm to improve positive predictive value while minimizing false negatives. Finally, we externally validated resulting caseness algorithms by linking HDR diagnostic data with best‐estimate clinical diagnoses from the National Quality Assurance Register for Bipolar Disorder (BipoläR), dispensed lithium prescriptions from the National Prescribed Drug Register, and the ICD‐10 diagnoses from the National Outpatient Register respectively.

Results:  The algorithm with two discharge diagnoses of bipolar disorder yielded a positive predictive value of 0.81. Modification by excluding individuals diagnosed with ICD‐8 296.20 (manic‐depressive psychosis, depressed type), and/or ICD‐9 296.B (unipolar affective psychosis, melancholic form), gave a positive positive predictive value of 0.92. The modified algorithm also had statistically superior external validity compared with the original algorithm.

Conclusion:  Our findings suggest that DSM‐IV‐TR bipolar disorder caseness based on two inpatient episodes with a bipolar disorder diagnosis is sufficiently sensitive and specific to be used in further epidemiological study of bipolar disorder.