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Based on the resource-based view, this paper attempts to analyze the impact of international related-party trade on the performance of foreign-funded enterprises in China from the perspective of value creation. The findings of this paper are as follows. (1) the greater the proportion of parent company to foreign-funded enterprises’ international related-party transactions, the better the performance of foreign-funded enterprises. (2) As the differences in legal systems increase, the role of international related-party trade in promoting performance is weakening. (3) As cultural differences increase, the role of international related-party trade in promoting performance is increasing. After considering the impact of transfer pricing, the conclusions of this paper remain unchanged.

We examine whether the differences in the legal origins of countries (Common Law versus Civil Law) can explain the variations in the price efficiencies of the stock markets of different countries. Based on multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis of the daily stock indices of 34 countries over 21 years, we find that the stock price indices in Common Law origin countries show greater price efficiency than the stock price indices in Civil Law countries. These results provide additional evidence that the legal origins of countries affect their economic activities and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on 1692 outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) events of 735 A-share listed companies in China's manufacturing industry from 2010 to 2019, this paper empirically examines the effect of investment motivation and the impact of institutional differences between China and the host country on the choice of OFDI entry mode; the paper also investigates the moderating effect of the "Belt and Road" Initiative (BRI) on Chinese manufacturing enterprises (CMEs) through use of the logit model. The empirical results show that, with greater institutional differences, CMEs become more inclined to choose cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A). Furthermore, a positive moderating effect of resource-seeking motivation on the choice of M&A OFDI by CMEs is observed. The signing of the "Belt and Road" cooperation document positively moderates institutional differences in promoting CMEs—especially state-owned CMEs—to choose the M&A mode. The "Belt and Road" Initiative provides an efficient supply system for OFDI by CMEs. This study enriches and extends existing institutional theories and provides suggestions for the promotion of the geopolitical pattern and international cooperation regarding the "Belt and Road" Initiative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present research shows the influence of institutional differences on the performance of initial public offerings (IPOs), both at the level of initial underpricing and at the level of 1-, 3- and 5-year performance. Our results represent a relevant empirical contribution to the international evidence because they allow us to test the influence of institutional differences on initial and long-term performance in a large database consisting of IPOs from 18 European countries, given that the European framework has been less analysed than the U.S. institutional environment. The main novelty and contribution of this research in relation to previous investigations is that those existing to date only analyse the institutional effect on the anomaly that occurs on the first day of IPO listing, i.e., underpricing, whereas this study is more ambitious; it considers the institutional effect on both underpricing and the long-term performance of the IPOs considered, which makes it possible to cover subsequent returns of up to 5 years after the start of the stock market listing. It is therefore, to our knowledge, the most comprehensive study to date on the effect of institutional factors on the two IPO anomalies: short and long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large inland territory that includes Russian Siberia and Mongolia, as discussed in this article, has similarities in physical-geographical and socio-demographic parameters, as well as in the attitude to them as "resource colonies." The Siberian and Mongolian components significantly differ politically, thus affecting the institutional and managerial characteristics and the formation of territorial nature conservation, which is implemented in the activities of specially protected natural areas. The article provides an analysis of the existing systems of protected areas in Siberia and Mongolia, as well as of their structure and legislative basis. The similarities and differences of the laws of Russia and Mongolia have been consistently considered: on land, on specially protected natural areas, and on territories of traditional nature management. The analysis of legislation revealed a difference between similar categories of protected areas and management features, as well as some aspects of law enforcement. Based on statistical information as of the beginning of 2021, summary tables of protected areas by category and by administrative units have been compiled. On the basis of databases collected by the authors and previously published thematic atlases, maps of protected areas have been compiled demonstrating their placement in Mongolia and Siberia. Despite the differences, a converging aspect was shown: the presence and planning of interstate transboundary protected natural areas. It has been concluded that the existing system of Mongolian protected areas is more effective. It is characterized by a greater representativeness of landscape diversity more evenly placement across administrative units of the country, developed in terms of areal indicators, more homogeneous in terms of representation of various categories of protected areas, and more peculiar due to the presence of transboundary protected areas between aimags. The Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) is a positive exception in the Russian part of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital transformation has brought significant changes to individuals, organizations, and society in many ways, among which is the process of national governance and its effectiveness. Existing national governance studies rarely have systematically probed the impact of digital transformation on national governance from a macroscopic and holistic perspective. The evolution brought by digital transformation on the national governance is reflected from three dimensions at least: 1) As for internal affairs, digital transformation facilitated significant economic growth and path innovation for national development; 2) Countries with different governance models display the phenomenon of governance convergence due to similar digital challenges and logic; 3) Being in a widely connected digital age, multiple global challenges highlight the ineffectiveness of the state as a unit of governance and the need for national governance rules to take into account the global digital order. The proliferation and adaptive properties of digital technologies and the connecting and generative logic of digital transformation are the inherent mechanisms of changes in national governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-border alliances expose firms to heightened risks, posing different governance and control challenges than domestic alliances. We examine the impact of differences in alliance partner countries' institutional environments. Analysis of survey data supports our contention that cross-border alliances involve a greater reliance on formal controls, particularly when firms collaborate with partners in countries with a weaker institutional environment. These relations exist regardless of governance structure (i.e., equity or non-equity alliance) that prior research considers a critical choice for addressing cross-border alliance risks. Additional analyses show that four subdimensions of institutional characteristics (voice and accountability, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption) and one subdimension of formal controls (behavior controls) are the main drivers in the association between institutional distance and reliance on formal controls. These findings demonstrate the distinct impact of institutional environment as a country-level determinant of alliance control choices. Data Availability: Due to confidentiality agreements with respondents, the data cannot be released publicly. JEL Classifications: D23; D82; L22; M4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article assesses the possibilities of including institutional factors in macroeconomic and sectoral forecasts. It has been substantiated that a number of institutional features associated with the concentration of business in sectors of the economy and its consolidation around the leading group of companies in the market may reflect qualitative changes in the architecture of markets, the strengthening of explicit or implicit dominance, the formation of institutional barriers and traps. At the same time, the outstripping growth of large business significantly affects the industry dynamics and structural shifts, but is not synchronized across industries and is uneven in time. An approach is proposed for comparing the processes of business consolidation in the sectors of the Russian consumer market. Quantitative calculations have been performed, confirming the hypothesis of the importance of institutional factors that enhance the influence of large business in industries on the dynamics of their indicators. An assumption is made about a qualitative change in the sensitivity of markets to government regulation measures, depending on the stability of their architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public attitudes towards welfare programs is a crucial topic in the field of social policy research. Current studies on welfare attitudes has long been a lack of an explicit conceptualization, and mainly conducted at the individual level with the focus on self-interest. This study distinguished the dimensions of welfare attitudes into responsibility, efficiency and effectiveness, and examined the factors that influence welfare attitudes towards anti-poverty policies in China. Data used in this study came from Chinese National Survey of Public Welfare Attitudes in 2018 with a final sample size of 8296 respondents from three deliberately selected provinces in China. It concluded that welfare attitudes share the traits of economical individualism, social collectivism and institutional differences. Positive perception of work ethics and social cognition about income inequality were two important factors associated with welfare attitudes towards anti-poverty policy. People who were against indolence, idleness and male breadwinner and who were highly sensitive of income inequality were more supportive of the notion that government is responsible for protecting their livelihood, nevertheless, less satisfied with the current standard of substance allowance and performance of policy implementation, indicating an orientation of both individualism and collectivism of welfare attitudes. Besides, welfare attitudes were also motivated by institutional differences such as regional disparities and migrant identity. Therefore, this study suggests that the government should be need-oriented in dealing with of the different dimensions of poverty, and should establish a more unified and generous social welfare system that benefits both the natives and migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines FDI-mediated domestic firms' technological catch-up by considering institutional differences between home and host countries, the role of marketing capabilities, and the joint effects of institutional differences and the degree of foreign ownership. Using firm-level panel data for Indian manufacturing industries, we find that FDI-mediated technological catch-up in domestic firms is conditional on institutional differences between the home and host country of multinational enterprises and the level of marketing capabilities of foreign-owned affiliates. In addition, we find that technological catch-up in domestic firms is likely to be positively influenced by the presence of wholly foreign-owned firms from institutionally close countries, whereas we find some evidence that the presence of minority foreign-owned firms may have a negative effect on domestic technological catch-up, regardless of institutional differences. We also provide theoretical and policy implications of our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eurozone is at a crossroads. Its neoliberal and ordoliberal construction proved to be unworkable and, after the crisis, made the macroeconomic adjustment slow and costly – causing financial and real divergence among the member countries. Kolodko's writings offer interesting insights. This article considers Kolodko's study of Poland and Greece and adds two other paradigmatic cases, those of Germany and Italy. Kolodko's case studies and criticism of neoliberalism lead him to propose a New Pragmatism in policy making. This proposal offers important insights, but neglects two fundamental problems: moral hazard and institutional differences. These have to be included in the New Pragmatism to give this the strength and ability to contribute to solve the Eurozone problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung: DIW-Wochenbericht is the property of DIW Berlin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Community service-learning (CSL) is increasingly seen as an educational approach that can enhance student engagement and serve community needs. However, CSL programs are highly variable in their structures and goals, leading to variability in the outcomes sought and attained. In this paper, we map out the structures and priorities of CSL programs in Canada following a major influx of funding from the McConnell Family Foundation grant competition in 2004. We also contrast key features of these programs, including their institutional location, unit organization, and educational delivery approach, in order to demonstrate the potential implications of different program models. Our aim is to offer new and developing programs some guidance on the program structures that have been employed as well as their implications.

It has always been obvious that we all think and behave differently, so it is no wonder that many people are concerned about the causes of our differences. Some people think that these differences are mainly for physiological reasons, so differences are inevitable and cannot be altered; others say our environment affects our intellect, character, and properties (Dweck, 2006). Hrubos (2008) defines diversity in education (2008) as diversity within the system, and differentiation is the process in which new units develop within the system. Diversity refers to a state of a variety of units at a given time. However, differentiation is the process that describes its dynamics. I begin my theoretical study with the discovery of secondary school diversity in the field of language teaching in Hungary. Here I distinguish the institutional, social and cultural factors that can cause differences. After that I focus on the types of diversity observed in higher education. Here we can talk about structural diversity (e.g. public or private) referring to the different types of institutions, the diversity of programs announced by the institutions and the diversity of reputations. So the main question of my research is which the dimensions of inequalities that cause dropouts are. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We provide a comparative overview of the process of implementation, harmonization and stabilization of public oversight systems for statutory auditors across the European Union (EU) after Directive 2006/43/EC. We build on institutional change theory to identify potential determinants as to why some countries still lag in this harmonization process. Oversight systems are a key institutional factor to guarantee the quality of financial information, essential to maintain investors' confidence and deep and stable capital markets. Thus, the harmonization of these systems has long been an objective of the EU. Our analyses serve to identify, analyse and compare how EU countries have incorporated European-wide requirements into their national legal systems. Particularly, we study: (1) basic characteristics of the system and bodies for public oversight, (2) organizational structure, (3) financing (4) transparency, (5) supervisory, and (6) disciplinary mechanisms. We show that significant diversity still exists across systems and that both the incentives for institutional change and the distance between pre-existing systems and the Directive are important explanatory factors of the achieved level of harmonization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically investigates whether corporate sustainability performance (CSP) affects information asymmetry (IA) for European firms listed in the STOXX Europe 600 from 2002 to 2013. We find a significantly negative effect of CSP on IA. By exploiting institutional differences between the European countries, we determine that the negative effect of CSP on IA is more pronounced in liberal market economies compared to coordinated market economies, thus pointing to a substitutive effect of CSP and economic coordination. Further, the impact is greater in countries with stricter disclosure requirements. In such countries, there is generally a greater appetite for company-specific information. However, disclosure requirements fulfil this need only partially because they concentrate on the corporate governance dimension of corporate sustainability. Hence, information on the social pillar especially matters to investors in a complementary manner and drives the overall effect. Our study contributes to the literature on the positive capital market effects of CSP by showing the proposed effect in European capital markets and the institutional determinants of its strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research summary: We analyze the effects of board industry expertise on corporate strategic change and the moderating role of institutional quality. We suggest that country-level contingency factors mitigate the effect of experienced boards on strategy formation by providing alternative sources of information and control in strategic matters. We develop institutional quality as institutional information provision and institutional control provision to test our hypotheses on a sample of firms from MSCI Europe and the S&P 500. Our findings confirm that industry expertise is a salient driver of strategic change across countries. The strength of the effect, however, depends on the institutional quality. We submit that weak institutions require greater board industry expertise as an alternative channel of information and control. Management summary: This study provides new empirical evidence that experience in the firms' industries enables directors to increase strategic change. Our findings show that this effect is even stronger in countries with weak regulatory environments. We hereby provide guidance for multiple stakeholders. First, shareholders seeking a more active adjustment of their firms' strategies may want to compose boards that leverage such experienced directors. Second, directors can use their industry experience to control and to challenge managers better to move beyond the status quo. Third, managers lacking access to information on potential strategic change can use such experienced directors for strategic advice and as a source of information. Overall, we add to the understanding of the corporate board's role in shaping strategy and the influence of weak regulations. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of the Cukurova University Institute of Social Sciences is the property of Cukurova University Institute of Social Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although acknowledged that academic advising helps students adjust to and deal with the challenges of college, little is known about students' frequency of interactions with advisors. Using data from 52,546 full-time, first-year students at 209 diverse institutions, we examined the frequency with which students met with academic advisors and the way these interactions vary by student and institutional characteristics. We found that the typical first-year student met with an advisor 1 to 3 times during his or her first college year; however, the number of meetings varied across student subpopulations and institutional types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

JEL: P21

There are two main pitfalls for those who analyse Soviet-type economies: the difficulty of explaining macroeconomic relationships in terms of either neoclassical or Keynesian received theory and the distorted official data. It is systemic features that make the characteristic macro effects mean something different under central planning from what is understood by Western economists and generate quantity and price distortions that cause statistics in Soviet-type economies to differ from those in market economies. This paper sets these differences and distortions into an explanatory framework and, while received theory is applied, the impact of institutional differences is also taken into account. Empirical support for the framework is given with attention drawn to distortions in prices and especially quantities, since the latter are less evident. JEL: P21

Copyright of Journal for East European Management Studies is the property of Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract: This paper investigates the determinants of the observed contracted equity share ownership structure in international joint ventures (IJVs). We propose that the inherent intangibility of the assets that partner's contribute to the IJV, and both formal (legal) and informal (cultural) institutional differences between partners contribute to explaining the negotiated division of the IJV's equity share. Empirical results from 442 UK-based home-foreign IJVs, indicate that an IJV partner's equity share ownership is positively correlated with the intangibility of the assets they contribute to the IJV relative to those of the second partner. Both cultural and formal institutional differences exert a moderating influence on the observed asset intangibility-equity share relationship for the foreign IJV partner. We attribute this finding to both risk perceptions and the liability of foreignness. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Multinational engineering consultants, contractors, and real estate developers work on projects in various countries, encountering many challenges that arise from cross-national differences. These projects frequently bring together diverse participants in an unfamiliar environment. In these situations, firms are exposed to different “institutions”—regulations, norms, and cognitive-cultural beliefs—that can increase misunderstandings, delays, and costs. Knowledge of these institutional elements is critical to create a project that is both locally sustainable and profitable for the firm. Departing from institutional theory and the knowledge-based view of the firm, we conduct exploratory research based on interviews from informants in 15 firms to identify the methods that multinational real estate developers, contractors, and engineers use to transfer and mobilize institutional knowledge for their global projects. We contribute to theory by adding to the developing literature that uses institutional theory to examine differences on global projects and by analyzing the specific methods firms use to transfer institutional knowledge internally, across projects and divisions. Ultimately, this research, combined with the work of others, can develop new processes for firms engaged in international projects to enhance their mobilization of institutional knowledge, and thereby improve the outcomes of international projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the perceptions students at three traditional university campuses and four Rajabhat university campuses in Central-Western Thailand have of English. The students were surveyed on (1) their backgrounds, (2) their thoughts about English in general, (3) their thoughts about their own ability in English, and (4) their thoughts about their current English teachers. The researchers found that traditional university students had better backgrounds in English. Additionally, most students at both types of institutions thought positively about English and their teachers, but didn’t think so positively about their own English ability. However, the differences in students’ responses were small and therefore any implications from the institutional differences in students’ perceptions are limited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does the use of ICTs lead to convergence? Or are existing differences being reproduced? This paper deals with these broad questions in the domain of political accountability in two countries and applies these questions to the level of agency accountability and political accountability systems. The results of empirical research in the Netherlands (a parliamentary system) and three American states (presidential systems) into the effects of digitization on political accountability are used to evaluate the relevance of institutional differences for explaining outcomes of technological trajectories. The research indicates that there are many similarities and few differences at the level of agencies. Government agencies in both countries record more data than before the introduction of ICTs, grant better access to recently recorded data. have not created technological warranties for protecting the authenticity of this information and cannot guarantee that the digital information will remain accessible over time. One minor difference between the findings is that websites were found to be more important for communication between government agencies and citizens and even within government agencies in the USA than in the Netherlands. The fact that many similarities and few differences were found supports the idea that government agencies in different countries are converging because of the use of the same technologies. Does convergence also take place at the level of accountability systems? There are relevant differences at the level of political principals. Principals in the Netherlands make little use of digital information and mostly rely on information in paper documents whereas principals in the USA extensively use digital information for fact-finding. Principals in the Netherlands have insufficient information processing capacity to adequately process all the digital information available to them while principals in the USA generally have sufficient capacity. Principals in the Netherlands make limited us of databases for fact-finding whereas principals in the USA, in contrast, make much use of this digital information. Overall, American principals are better capable of using digital information for fact-finding than Dutch principals. This indicates that institutional differences in ex-post oversight are reproduced in the information age. The relation between information and communication technologies and political institutions is ambiguous: agencies are converging whereas differences between political principals are reproduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the international dimensions of multinationals' corporate political activities, focusing on an international issue-climate change-being implemented differently in a range of countries. Analyzing data from Financial Times Global 500 firms, it examines the influence on types and process of multinationals' political strategies, reckoning with institutional contexts and issue saliency. Findings show that the type of political activities can be characterized as an information strategy to influence policy makers toward market-based solutions, not so much withholding action on emission reduction. Moreover, multinationals pursue self-regulation, targeting a broad range of political actors. The process of political strategy is mostly one of collective action. International differences particularly surface in the type of political actors aimed at, with U.S. and Australian firms focusing more on nongovemment actors (voluntary programs) than European and Japanese firms. Influencing home-country (not host-country) governments is the main component of international political strategy on climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite theoretical developments in recent years, our understanding of corporate capital structure remains incomplete. Prior empirical research has been dominated by archival regression studies which are limited in their ability to fully reflect the diversity found in practice. The present paper reports on a comprehensive survey of corporate financing decision-making in UK listed companies. A key finding is that firms are heterogeneous in their capital structure policies. About half of the firms seek to maintain a target debt level, consistent with trade-off theory, but 60% claim to follow a financing hierarchy, consistent with pecking order theory. These two theories are not viewed by respondents as either mutually exclusive or exhaustive. Many of the theoretical determinants of debt levels are widely accepted by respondents, in particular the importance of interest tax shield, financial distress, agency costs and also, at least implicitly, information asymmetry. Results also indicate that cross-country institutional differences have a significant impact on financial decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the patterns of Internet use in 15 European Union countries. In the theoretical part, it is discussed how the social scientists have addressed the consequences of the diffusion of the new information and communication technologies (ICT). It is asked whether there is a potential in the use of ICT for increasing social inequalities within and between the affluent societies. In the empirical part, it is examined whether the 15 European countries selected have qualitatively different patterns of Internet use from each other. Results from Eurobarometer 56.0 survey data collected in 2001 ( N =16,200) show that the basic socio-demographic factors explain the use of the Internet rather similarly in the then EU area. However, it is also revealed that the institutional differences between European countries affect the strengths of socio-demographic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the ways in which learning outcomes have been, or will be, investigated within the TLRP projects in higher education. It introduces the term ways of thinking and practising which has been used in one of the projects to describe the intentions of staff in higher education. This term covers what staff see as the essential nature of their discipline and so defines learning outcomes more broadly than is typical in the current specification of intended learning outcomes. The article considers the wide range of differences in learning outcomes that exist across higher education, reflecting different institutional missions and priorities, as well as the fundamental differences that exist between subject areas in the nature of learning outcomes, and considers some of the problems encountered in how to conceptualize and assess them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]