Systematic review of factors influencing the effectiveness of the co-operative board

Co-operatives played a significant part of the global economy, and its success depends on the effectiveness of the co-operative board to perform their roles. This article is aimed at reviewing and synthesizing the literature of the last ten years in order to enhance our understanding of the factors that have affected the effectiveness of the board. A systematic review of the Scopus and Web of Science databases identified 13 related studies that respond to research questions, guided by the PRISMA Statement (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) method. An analysis of these articles resulted in four main themes – board composition, board characteristics, board structure and board process, and these four themes formed a total of 12 sub-themes. This study has three significant contributions. Firstly, it provides an overview of studies of the co-operative board. Second, this systematic review highlighted the factors impacting the board's effectiveness. Finally, derived from this systematic analysis, we draw the pattern of variables that were analyzed in assessing the efficacy of the co-operative board. The findings indicated that the studies of the co-operative board are still inadequate, and in the context of developing countries, empirical research lags even further behind. Most studies concentrate mainly on the effect of board characteristics, followed by board composition, board process and board structure. Some recommendations for future research are outlined to explore other related factors that may enhance the co-operative board's effectiveness, namely from the perspective of the resource provision role of directors.

The Thesis Process in Industrial-Organizational Master’s Programs

This chapter covers the thesis process in industrial-organizational master’s programs. A master’s thesis project can be a key learning opportunity for students. Whether or not they intend to pursue a PhD, or ever conduct formal research after completing their master’s degree, students gain valuable competencies from completing a thesis, including project management skills, research skills, written and oral communication skills, critical thinking, and ethical behavior. Thesis projects are not without challenges, however. This chapter offers advice and observations based both on the research literature and the authors’ 35+ years of combined experience mentoring master’s theses. Topics addressed include feasible and appropriate projects, collaborations with organizations, navigating the Institutional Review Board process, and on-time thesis completion.

The impact of the board process on board and corporate performance: the case of Slovakia

Nowadays a great deal of attention is paid to corporate governance (CG). Frequent takeovers of ownership rights by management bodies led to a need for business owners to establish clear rules for business management and compliance monitoring. The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between selected characteristics of the governance process and the ability of governing bodies to perform their core tasks, as well as to model and predict the impact of the selected characteristics of the governance process on the company’s financial performance, measured by the year-on-year change in return on equity. The respondent sample consists of members of randomly selected top management entities with their headquarters in Slovakia. A total of 132 subjects participated and answered questions in the survey, 54% of which were joint stock companies, 36% were limited liability companies and 10% were respondents from cooperatives. Data were personally collected by a questionnaire survey conducted during 2019. To verify the assumptions and success of the formulated model, correlation analysis, binary logistic regression and other relevant tests were used. The results show that each of the examined board process attributes significantly affects at least one board performance attribute. All significant correlations have a positive value. Independent variables in the ROE regression model increased the estimation rate of ROE change from 54.5% to 93.9%. The model is applicable in the CG practice and allows the prediction of changes in ROE with respect to ongoing governance processes. AcknowledgmentThis paper has been supported by the Scientific Grant Agency of Slovak Republic under the project VEGA No. 1/0749/18 “Research on the application of corporate governance principles in companies in Slovakia”. The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Scientific Grant Agency of The Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic for financial support of this research and publication.

Compact SIW directional filter using substrate integrated circular cavities

In this paper, a novel directional filter (DF) is proposed and implemented using substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology which exhibits the advantages of compact size and simple structure. The proposed DF is realized by two half mode substrate integrated waveguides (HMSIWs) and two substrate integrated circular cavity (SICC) resonators operating in the TM110 degenerate modes in which an aperture is utilized to realize the coupling between HMSIWs and SICCs. Two slotlines with appropriate dimensions, etched on the top and bottom planes, are utilized in order to control coupling strength between two cascaded SICC resonators. The proposed two-circular cavity SIW DF at 12.3 GHz is designed and fabricated with a normal printed circuit board process. Measured and simulated results indicate that the DF has a 3.25% bandwidth, and the return loss as well as isolation are better than 10.5 and 15 dB, respectively.