Examining the plausibility of Donald Trump’s denial of responsibility for the 2020 assault on the U. S. Capitol: A dual-agency model of identity leadership and engaged followership

This paper develops a dual-agency model of leadership which treats collective phenomena as a co-production between leaders and followers. The model integrates work on identity leadership and engaged followership derived from the social identity tradition in social psychology. In contrast to binary models in which leaders or followers are seen to have agency, this argues that leaders gain influence by framing the agency of their followers and defining the parameters of their action but leaving space for creativity in how their goals are accomplished. Followers in turn, exhibit their loyalty and attachment to the leader by competing to be most effective in advancing these goals. We illustrate the model by drawing on a range of sources, most notably the events of 6th January 2021 when Donald rump’s exhortations to his supporters that they should ‘fight’ to ‘stop the steal’ of the 2020 election was followed by an attack on the Capitol. We argue that it is Trump’s willing participation in this mutual process of identity enactment, rather than any instructions which may (or may not) have been contained in his speech, that should be the basis for assessing his influence on, and responsibility for, the assault.

Analysis of Tawarruq contract in the Islamic profit rate swap (IPRS) implementation in Malaysia

Purpose This study aims to analyse the Shariah issues in the implementation of tawarruq contract in the Islamic profit rate swap (IPRS) instrument in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach This is a qualitative study in applying data analysis and semi-structured interview approaches. Data was collected from various documents including journals, articles and past studies conducted by scholars. To achieve the purpose of this study, the data is analysed based on thematic analysis. Findings The study found several Shariah issues regarding the implementation of tawarruq contract in the IPRS instruments, which have remained a dispute amongst the Islamic financial scholars such as its profit-making purpose, encouragement of debt, impediment of shared risk concept, disputed underlying assets, a deception towards allowing riba and dual agency. Research limitations/implications This study recommends several improvements such as the establishment of a neutral agency that does not represent any banking institution to manage the tawarruq contract commodity purchase from Bursa Suq al-Sila’ (BSAS). In addition, a neutral agency can provide aid in terms of transaction facility or at least consultation service for clients to enable them to conduct the commodity transactions independently. Practical implications Moreover, guidelines should be established on the separation of the deadline to sign the agreement of appointment of a bank as the commodity purchase agent and the agreement of appointment of the bank as the commodity sale agent on behalf of clients. All transactions related to tawarruq contract commodity must be done through BSAS. The regulators and industry experts may create a guideline for the IPRS based on the issues and recommendations that have been discussed in this study. Originality/value On the basis of the analysis of the criticisms and issues in the implementation of tawarruq contract in the IPRS instrument, the current study found that an intermediating institution is allowed to gain profits from transactions conducted so long as they are based on Shariah principles of contract in Islam. As there is no parameter specifically for IPRS, thus the suggested parameter can be used by policymakers such as the Central Bank of Malaysia to ensure the industry complies with Shariah principles.

Dual Agency in Hospitals: What Strategies Do Managers and Physicians Apply to Reconcile Dilemmas Between Clinical and Economic Considerations?

Background: Hospital professionals are "dual agents" who may face dilemmas between their commitment to patients’ clinical needs and hospitals’ financial sustainability. This study examines whether and how hospital professionals balance or reconcile clinical and economic considerations in their decision-making in two countries with activity-based payment systems. Methods: We conducted 46 semi-structured interviews with hospital managers, chief physicians and practicing physicians in five German and five Israeli hospitals in 2018/2019. We used thematic analysis to identify common topics and patterns of meaning. Results: Hospital professionals report many situations in which activity-based payment incentivizes proper treatment, and clinical and economic considerations are aligned. This is the case when efficiency can be improved, eg, by curbing unnecessary expenditures or specializing in certain procedures. When considerations are misaligned, hospital professionals have developed a range of strategies that may contribute to balancing competing considerations. These include ‘reshaping management,’ such as better planning of the entire course of treatment and improvement of the coding; and ‘reframing decision-making,’ which involves working with averages and developing tool-kits for decision-making. Conclusion: Misalignment of economic and clinical considerations does not necessarily have negative implications, if professionals manage to balance and reconcile them. Context is important in determining if considerations can be reconciled or not. Reconciling strategies are fragile and can be easily disrupted depending on context. Creating tool-kits for better decision-making, planning the treatment course in advance, working with averages, and having interdisciplinary teams to think together about ways to improve efficiency can help mitigate dilemmas of hospital professionals.

Dual Agency, Commission Levels, and the Effect on Sale Price in Residential Real Estate Market: A Questionnaire Survey on Real Estate Brokers in Japan

In residential real estate market, agents have an incentive to steer their clients to their own listings or buyers rather than offering the best value transaction, which is derived from allowing dual agency and information asymmetry among buyers, sellers, and agents. We estimated the commission levels and sale prices of real estate brokers through a questionnaire survey and found that seven out of ten brokers are closing dual-agency deals and lowering sale prices. We could not find any effects of the number of employees, location of office, and major types of contract on dual agency.

EXPRESS: Salesperson Dual Agency in Price Negotiations

When should B2B firms encourage their salespeople to advocate for the customer in pricing negotiations? This research extends dual agency theory to the sales domain to address this question. In Study 1, the authors examine discount negotiations with secondary data from a major U.S. industrial distributor. They find that the customer and seller both experience the most favorable outcomes when the salesperson engages in both customer advocacy toward the seller and seller advocacy toward the customer; either type of advocacy alone is counterproductive. Study 2 confirms these results using matched survey, pricing, and profit data and demonstrates a key boundary condition: broad customer–seller ties enable the synergy between customer advocacy and seller advocacy by enhancing the firms’ abilities to monitor the salesperson. In Study 3, experiments with B2B buyers replicate key findings and provide evidence for theorized mechanisms. This research emphasizes the interdependence between the salesperson’s dual roles and demonstrates how the salesperson can serve as an effective agent of both the customer and seller, thereby mitigating challenges associated with role conflict.

Impact of Private Equity Trading Platforms on Firm Value and Corporate Governance

This study presents a theoretical model to analyze the effect of private equity trading platforms, which have recently experienced rapid growth, on the investment decisions of unlisted companies. As the value of unlisted companies has soared, demand for these stocks has increased. Accordingly, platforms for the brokerage of private stock transactions are being activated. We find that these platforms increase the liquidity in the unlisted stock market by easing regulations on trading of these stocks, further enhancing the firm values and corporate governance of the corresponding firms. In addition, a significant number of unlisted companies are family-owned, in which a manager is also a blockholder. Our study therefore constructs a framework based on a market microstructure model to analyze the impact of unlisted stock trading platforms. In the case of an unlisted firm, a potential dual agency problem exists where the manager, who is also a blockholder, invests less than the external shareholders’ profit-maximizing levels. We find that managers have the incentives to increase firms’ investment when the liquidity in the unlisted stock market improves with the growth of the private equity trading platform, implying that these platforms potentially enhance corporate governance of unlisted companies and promote their growth.