scholarly journals Multinational enterprises, risk management, and the business and economics of peace

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 270-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Oetzel ◽  
Jason Miklian
Keyword(s):  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Investment Risk ◽  
Local Society ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Local Environments ◽  
Complex Settings

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reconceptualize how managers of multinational enterprises (MNEs) manage risk, particularly in fragile and/or conflict-affected areas of operation. The authors suggest that MNEs consider reducing risk at its source rather than trying to avoid or react to risks as they occur. By incorporating peacebuilding strategies, managers may not only reduce investment risk but also contribute to stability and prosperity in the communities where they operate, and gain a competitive advantage in doing so. Design/methodology/approach The authors show how firms can take a more holistic approach to working in conflict-affected areas. They do so by overlaying conceptualizations of risk with those of peacebuilding and then use case examples to illustrate how such actions work in practice. Findings Using a series of examples, the authors find that MNEs that incorporate peacebuilding frameworks in their risk calculations in complex settings tend to have a better understanding of local environments and how they affect firm operations and profitability. These same MNEs may hold a long-term advantage over international competitors that do not share the same understanding. Originality/value The authors argue that the study of relationships between international businesses and society in conflict-affected or fragile areas of operation is under-developed and tends to focus on negative (risk-aversion) aspects as opposed to positive (value-added) opportunities. This paper offers new ways in which these relationships can be reconceptualized. The authors’ main takeaway is that a peacebuilding approach does not require corporations to be arbitrators of peace at the expense of profit. Rather, it is instead a broader way to conceptualize and weigh risk when working in the world’s most challenging regions. This approach is more likely to be in the long-term interest of both the firm and the local society where the firm operates.

scholarly journals Opportunities and challenges of using socially intelligent agents: increasing interaction and school participation for children suffering from a long-term illness

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Mårell-Olsson ◽  
Thomas Mejtoft ◽  
Sofia Tovedal ◽  
Ulrik Söderström
Keyword(s):  
Intelligent Agents ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Medical Needs ◽  
Societal Benefits ◽  
School Participation

PurposeChildren suffering from cancer or cardiovascular disease, who need extended periods of treatment in hospitals, are subjected to multiple hardships apart from the physical implications, for example, experienced isolation and disrupted social and academic development. This has negative effects long after the child's recovery from the illness. The purpose of this paper is to examine the non-medical needs of children suffering from a long-term illness, as well as research the field of artificial intelligence (AI) – more specifically, the use of socially intelligent agents (SIAs) – in order to study how technology can enhance children's interaction, participation and quality of life.Design/methodology/approachInterviews were performed with experts in three fields: housing manager for hospitalized children, a professor in computing science and researcher in AI, and an engineer and developer at a tech company.FindingsIt is important for children to be able to take control of the narrative by using an SIA to support the documentation of their period of illness, for example. This could serve as a way of processing emotions, documenting educational development or keeping a reference for later in life. The findings also show that the societal benefits of AI include automating mundane tasks and recognizing patterns.Originality/valueThe originality of this study concerns the holistic approach of increasing the knowledge and understanding of these children's specific needs and challenges, particularly regarding their participation and interaction with teachers and friends at school, using an SIA.

Value-added statement as a trigger to organizational unlearning

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 22-25
Author(s):  
Shubham Sharma ◽  
Usha Lenka
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Financial Statements ◽  
Environmental Aspects ◽  
Value Addition ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Economic Context ◽  
Income Statement ◽  
Financial Metrics

Purpose Organizational unlearning is easier said than done. Organizations are usually not cognizant of the ripe time to start questioning and discarding their existing paradigms and past success formulas. This paper aims to recommend the use of a financial metric, i.e. value-added statement, as a trigger to unlearning in organizations. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a review of existing literature on organizational unlearning to highlight that although prescriptive studies on unlearning are abundant, “how” and “when” organizations should contemplate and discard the obsolete knowledge and routines is still inconspicuous. Findings Value-added statement is an adequate reporting measure that incorporates the contribution of organization toward not only its shareholders but also other stakeholders such as employees, providers of long-term finance, government, and public. It supplements income statement and provides an insight of how organizations are serving its interest groups. A decline in value addition by an organization in a reporting period can serve as a trigger to question the existing practices and break organization’s over-dependence on “one size fits all” approach. Originality/value Unlearning is considered as a means to attain financial performance in an organization. This paper attempts to recommend a financial metric which incorporates the economic, social, and environmental aspects of business, i.e. value-added statement. The rationale for not recommending other financial metrics as a trigger for unlearning is based on grounds of possible manipulation. Moreover, these financial statements are affected by legal, political, and economic context of a nation.

Azerbaijan's stability will trump diversification

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Value Added ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Strategic Objective ◽  
Board Of Governors ◽  
Capital Spending ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas ◽  
The Government ◽  
Remittance Flows

Subject Economic diversification in Azerbaijan. Significance Speaking at the Asian Development Bank's annual board of governors meeting in Baku in early May, President Ilham Aliyev said low world oil prices had led the government to implement across-the-board cost-cutting measures to balance the budget. While Azerbaijan has always sought to reduce its dependence on the energy sector, both oil and natural gas exports will continue to be the backbone of economic growth, he declared. Diversifying the national economy away from hydrocarbons towards higher value-added industries and services remains the government's long-term key priority. However, it faces multiple structural challenges. Impacts Azerbaijan's exposure to the neighbouring Russian market will be below average. However, it will continue to be affected by its economic crisis, particularly in terms of migrant remittance flows. The government's capital spending cuts will have direct negative consequences for the downstream sector, regarded as a strategic objective.

scholarly journals How weaknesses in home country location advantages can constrain EMNE growth

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajneesh Narula ◽  
Tiju Prasad Kodiyat
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Home Country ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Systems Of Innovation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Infrastructure ◽  
Knowledge Intensive

Purpose This paper aims to discuss the opportunities and limitations that the location-specific advantages of the home country represent for infant multinational enterprises (MNEs). The systemic weaknesses of the home country can constrain the long-term competitiveness of its firms and, ultimately, the competitiveness of its MNEs. Many emerging countries have a constrained set of location-specific (L) assets from which their firms are able to develop ownership-specific assets. Design/methodology/approach The authors examine data for the case of India, an economy regarded as having considerable potential to expand to knowledge-intensive sectors, using a “systems of innovation” framework, merged with an analysis of L advantages. Findings At the macro level, India’s performance is not different from countries of similar economic structure, and its current pockets of excellence are a reflection of its L assets. The analysis suggests that the failure to foster and upgrade the L assets of emerging economies is likely to stunt the growth of their domestic firms and, ultimately, any new MNE activity in the long-term. Research limitations/implications In the case of India, systemic policy changes are needed to upgrade the knowledge infrastructure and institutions to support a shift in the competitive advantages to new sectors outside existing pockets of excellence. Indian firms are unlikely to be able to rely on the knowledge infrastructure of their home economy and will “exit” the Indian milieu because of weaknesses in L assets, as much as to seek markets and customers elsewhere. There will be few opportunities for new generations of firms to venture abroad from a position of strength, rather than as a means to overcome their home country disadvantages. Originality/value The evidence would suggest that – like other emerging economies – Indian firms are unlikely to be able to rely on the knowledge infrastructure of their home economy and are “exiting” the Indian milieu because of its weaknesses in L assets, as much as to seek markets and customers elsewhere. Most importantly, India faces a potential shortage of skilled human capital in the medium term.

The antecedents of relational capital in key exporter-importer relationships

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dario Miocevic
Keyword(s):  
Survey Methodology ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
The Body ◽  
Institutional Distance ◽  
Relational Capital ◽  
Relational Exchange ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Relational Norms

Purpose – During their process of going international, small and medium-sized manufacturing firms seek to establish long-term relationships with key importers in order to minimize the risks of doing business in a foreign market. In the process of establishing long-term relationships, exporters aim to create relational capital with key importers. Yet, the body of international marketing literature that addresses the importance of relational capital in exporter-importer (E-I) relationships is still underdeveloped. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of relational norms on relational capital in key E-I relationships under the moderating influence of formal and informal institutional distance. The study’s conceptual framework was developed by integrating relational exchange and institutional theories. Design/methodology/approach – The study was carried out by using a survey methodology. Data were obtained by questionnaire from a sample of 122 small and medium-sized exporters from the manufacturing industry in Croatia. In order to test the hypotheses, the ordinary least squares technique was employed. Findings – The findings support the hypotheses, implying that the development of relational capital requires relational efforts in terms of reliance and relational bonding norms. Additionally, the empirical data suggest that the dimensions of formal and informal institutional distance significantly moderate the relationships between relational norms and relational capital. Originality/value – The value-added of this study is embedded within the theoretical framing and empirical testing of the antecedents of relational capital in key E-I relationships in the context of the institutional distance between partners, which has been neglected by previous studies in the field.

Toward understanding principals’ hiring practices

2016 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 173-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mimi Engel ◽  
F. Chris Curran
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Teacher Recruitment ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Chicago Public Schools ◽  
Hiring Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
Starting Point

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore variation across principals in terms of the number and types of strategies they engage in to find teachers to fill the vacancies in their schools. The practices that the authors consider to be strategic are aligned with the district’s goals and objectives for teacher recruitment. Design/methodology/approach – The authors selected 31 schools from the Chicago Public Schools system through a combination of stratified random sampling and purposive sampling. Through analysis of qualitative interviews with the 31 principals of these schools, the authors explore a range of principals’ hiring strategies and provide brief case examples to illuminate differences in hiring practices across principals. Findings – The authors find that the majority of principals in the sample engage in relatively few of the practices considered strategic. Interestingly, sample principals who engaged in seven or more strategic practices were more likely to work in high schools than in elementary schools. Research limitations/implications – While the range of strategic hiring practices the authors explore provides a starting point for analyzing principals’ hiring practices, it is important to recognize that the list of strategies the authors consider is not exhaustive. For instance, the context of the study did not allow the authors to analyze practices such as the consideration of teacher value-added scores. Practical implications – This study should be replicated in other contexts in order to see whether and how principals’ hiring practices vary by country, geographic location, urbanicity, and other factors. Originality/value – This study is the first, to the authors’ knowledge, to detail principals’ hiring practices in relation to their district’s teacher recruitment plan with the aim of adding to the knowledge base on teacher hiring.

Enablers of relational integrated value networks (RIVANS) for total facilities management (TFM)

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nayanthara De Silva ◽  
Nilmini Weerasinghe ◽  
H.W.N. Madhusanka ◽  
Mohan Kumaraswamy
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Life Cycle Cost ◽  
Driving Forces ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Life Cycle Approach ◽  
Integrated Networks ◽  
Value Networks ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify enablers for setting up relationally integrated value networks (RIVANS) for total facilities management (TFM) as a holistic approach to bridge the Project Management (PM) phase to the facilities management (FM) phase, aiming for better service delivery while optimizing the life-cycle cost. These enablers are proposed as required driving forces for the industry to bridge current gaps through RIVANS for TFM so as to improve the value of the facility and deliver better value to its stakeholders over its life span. Design/methodology/approach A literature review elicited 11 typical better values that could be achieved by suitably linking the PM and FM supply chains in general. While these were tested in parallel research exercises in Hong Kong, the UK and Singapore, this paper reports on the specific findings from Sri Lanka, where a Web-based questionnaire survey was conducted to identify potential better values for proposed relational networks (including the clients, consultants, contractors and suppliers in the supply chain). Better values were then clustered under principal domains/components using factor analysis to establish synergetic enablers. Findings In total, 11 significant better values for TFM were identified and four enablers were extracted as building long-term integrated networks, establishing a common resource pool linking PM and FM, enhancing sustainability of TFM and developing a similar protocol between PM and FM. Originality/value The study carried out in this paper contributes to knowledge by identifying drivers to bridge the gap between PM and FM to best achieve clients’ long-term aspirations through a holistic life-cycle approach. Furthermore, all stakeholders in TFM can revisit their practices to establish and strengthen the identified enablers.

Sovereign wealth fund investments and policy implications: a survey

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 210-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen Meng
Keyword(s):  
Asset Allocation ◽  
Institutional Investors ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Data Access ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Comprehensive Survey ◽  
Definition Of

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address a research gap by providing a comprehensive survey of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) as international institutional investors and clarifying the definition of SWFs. By doing so, this paper aims to provide a balanced set of policy prescriptions towards SWFs. Design/methodology/approach – This paper conducted a comprehensive survey of world major 24 SWFs with assets under management of 500 million USD between 2008 and 2012. Key dimensions include objectives, funding and governance, asset allocation and investment activities. Findings – SWFs are planning institutions with management direction. They present great variety in terms of funding mechanism, governance, asset allocation and investment strategies, but they in essence pursue financial returns. It is not evident that SWFs are primarily motivated by political objectives and distinctively different from other international institutional investors. Difficulty in interpreting SWFs should not lead to the imposition of constraints on SWFs. Research limitations/implications – More in-depth and dynamic analysis of SWFs requires better data access. For such a purpose, case studies and longitudinal studies should be adopted, with particular emphasis on comparing SWFs with different types of financial institutional investors as well as typical state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and multinational enterprises. Practical implications – This study is trying to demystify SWFs based on a comprehensive survey. As a result, this paper may assist investors, policy-makers and regulators to gain a better understanding of SWFs, their investment behaviours and rationales behind. Social implications – SWFs like other long-term capital is important for economic and job growth. To attract long-term investments, creating an open, unbiased and welcoming investment environment is the key. Originality/value – The contribution of this paper is that we provide a deeper understanding of the strategy and empirics of SWF operations. First, after a clearer definition of the phenomenon of SWFs, we can explain their investment strategies and behaviour as firms. Second, we can derive rational policy prescriptions, and third, we can propose a research agenda that will further deepen our understanding of SWFs and the appropriate policy prescriptions.

The impact of national culture on financial crime

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 373-387
Author(s):  
Ahmed Yamen ◽  
Anas Al Qudah ◽  
Ahmed Badawi ◽  
Ahmed Bani-Mustafa
Keyword(s):  
National Culture ◽  
Money Laundering ◽  
Holistic Approach ◽  
Uncertainty Avoidance ◽  
Financial Crime ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Financial Crimes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Low Uncertainty

Purpose Despite the existence of laws, regulations and sanctions, financial crime remains widespread. The Panama leaks have proven that people from all over the world are participating in money laundering and other financial crimes. This study aims to investigate the influence of national culture on financial crimes across 78 countries. Design/methodology/approach This study uses Hofstede’s cultural framework as a basis for its hypotheses on financial crime. It also uses the Basel anti-money laundering index as a proxy for measuring the incidence of financial crime across the countries under review. Findings The findings show that countries whose cultural profiles are characterized by low uncertainty avoidance, low individualism, high masculinity and low long-term orientation have high rates of financial crime. The finding also shows that countries whose cultural profiles are characterized by individualism or positive collectivism, uncertainty avoidance and long-term orientation have low rates of financial crime. Originality/value Laws, regulations and sanctions are not the only factors that can help deter the crime; governments should also take a holistic approach that includes the cultural factors that encourage deterrence.

With or without CU

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petr Parshakov ◽  
Elena Anatolievna Shakina
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources Management ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Corporate University ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Strategic Investment ◽  
Corporate Universities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Variable Bias ◽  
Market Value Added

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address the issue of efficiency of corporate universities. An efficiency is defined in relative terms: as having relatively better performance in comparison to other companies. Different indicators of performance were employed in order to analyze short-term and long-term efficiency. A comparative analysis of European companies and emerging Russian companies is performed in order to understand if there are country differences in the efficiency of corporate universities. Design/methodology/approach To avoid potential omitted variable bias, fixed effect within estimator is employed. This estimator enables controlling for a firm-specific time-constant effect which conditions company’s performance and is responsible for other individual traits. The rest of the characteristics are controlled with a proxy, which are traditional for corporate finance studies. Findings There are contradictory results for the efficiency of a corporate university; for the European companies, a corporate university brings positive effect for the short-term performance, nevertheless, as the authors have found that it destructs value in long term. A company with a corporate university has 70 percent less market value added than an average company. There is a negative short-term synergy while the long-term synergy is positive. The results for the Russian sample are very consistent: corporate universities have negative or neutral effect on the performance. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature about strategic management and human resources management. It addresses the issue on efficiency of corporate universities in companies considering this as one of the key strategic investment in human resource policy. It appears that the corporate university is not a panacea for all companies to develop their human development policy.

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