Editorial: A cross-disciplinary approach to the business strategy research

The four articles of the second issue in 2021 of Corporate and Business Strategy Review look for the impact of the pandemic in economies, companies, employees, and schools, and give suggestions to try to surpass recession periods and increase students and employees’ satisfaction and needs, which can lead to an increase in companies’ financial performance

The effect of stress on employees’ performance of Revenue and Customs Authority in the developing economy

The main aim of undertaking this study was to understand the effect of stress on employee performance in the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA) in South West Ethiopia (SWE). The research design for this particular study is a cross-sectional field survey research design. By using stratified simple random sampling technique, 390 employees were selected as a sample and from this, 350 were valid. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis. Research shows that all factors of stress adversely affect employee performance. Therefore, the findings point out that the performance of employees is negatively affected by stress in ERCA. Finally, the study recommended that to reduce stress, the current work schedule needs to be adjusted and workload should be lifted from employees, assigning a reasonable level of responsibility, promoting positive organizational culture and improving the organizational climate, and preparing a well-documented organization-specific stress management programs.

Intellectual capital efficiency and market-based financial performance: Evidence from listed conglomerate companies

Having observed the rate at which dissimilarity occurs between market and book value, and management ignorance concerning the impact intellectual capital disclosure has on companies’ values spurred the interest to probe the association between the efficiency of value-added intellectual coefficient (VAIC) and market-based financial performance of listed Nigerian conglomerate companies. To accomplish the purpose of this study, secondary data were employed and extracted from annual audited reports of listed conglomerate companies in Nigeria from the period of 2010–2018. The data obtained were subjected to static panel data regression analysis technique. The random-effects model was adopted because the empirical result from Breusch and Pagan Lagrangian multiplier (BP-LM) and Hausman tests chose it over the fixed-effects model to produce better results. This study revealed that the value-added efficiency of capital employed (VACA), value-added efficiency of human capital (VAHU), and value-added efficiency of structural capital (STVA) are the drivers of intellectual capital in the conglomerate sector. This study concluded that elements of intellectual capital have a strong power on market-based financial performance. This study recommends that information on intellectual capital components should be reported in ways they deem fit by developing a model of intellectual capital disclosure that complies with the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB)

Reacquisitions vs. “regular” acquisitions and divestitures: A comparison of investor responses

Studies on mergers and acquisitions (M&A), as well as on divestitures, suffer from heterogeneity within their research universe. This study sheds light on one specific type of transaction that, despite its relevance, has remained understudied: reacquisitions. Reacquisitions are a type of M&A in which previously divested company parts are reacquired by parent companies. Drawing on recent research on how investors assess M&A (e.g., Harrison & Schijven, 2016; Schijven & Hitt, 2012), as well as on the occurrence of reacquisitions (e.g., Gleason, Madura, & Pennathur, 2006), we focus on three empirical questions and show that most reacquisitions are likely to be associated with negative signals about potential synergy, as well as with information about problems or threats related to the reacquiring companies. Based on an event study of 71 reacquisitions and 71 divestitures followed by reacquisitions, and comparing them against “regular” M&A and divestitures, we find, inter alia, that investors assess reacquisitions significantly more negatively than regular M&A. Our findings support the view that investors’ assessments are based on incomplete information and do not necessarily reflect actual performance

Editorial: New challenges and opportunities in strategic decision making

We are pleased to present the recent issue of the journal “Corporate and Business Strategy Review”. In this issue, current findings from the research are presented, which will support researchers with ideas for future work and provide managers and consultants with resources to support the development of solutions and assistance in decision-making.

Handling the crisis: A Keynesian vs. Austrian analysis of the Great Recession

This paper explores the differences between the mainstream economic interventionist view associated with John Maynard Keynes and the heterodox, non-interventionist Austrian School perspective associated with Friedrich Hayek on the Great Recession of 2007–2009. The literature review compares and contrasts articles explaining each view as they attempt to solve the problem of ending the recession. The heterodox Austrian School/Hayekian view is that central banks should take a hands-off approach to recessions, whereas the mainstream neo-Keynesian view is that central banks should take a more active role through monetary easing in an attempt to end the Great Recession. These two approaches are at odds with each other, but through this thorough and robust analysis, we will understand the similarities (if any) as well as substantial differences and what they can tell us for the next recession. Also included is a section on Methodology to highlight the differences in how economists of both camps conduct their research and present their findings to argue their case. The paper uses an analytical framework to show how the Austrian/Hayekian and Keynesian approaches differ both in content and methodology. The Keynesian perspective makes use of graphs and empirical data in the primary sources referenced to prove that the federal government and the Federal Reserve should have acted more quickly to implement an interventionist economic recovery. On the other hand, the Hayekian/Austrian approach makes use of methodological individualism and praxeology as the lens with which to examine the Great Recession and to show that such economic interventionism had the opposite of the intended effect; intervention, according to the Austrians, made the crisis worse. Not only are their conclusions different, but the means by which they examine the crisis are different as well. Finally, the paper examines some areas for future research on both sides to make each case stronger. Special emphasis is placed on how to develop the arguments of these two views further with regard to future recessions, particularly of the magnitude of the 2007–2008 financial crisis

Age and prior working experience effect on entrepreneurial intention

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that determine entrepreneurial intention and examine the effects of age and prior working experience on the formation of entrepreneurial intention. A questionnaire-based survey was employed for the data collection. A total of 171 university students from a Business School in Greece participated in the survey. The findings of our research showed that perceived behavioral control and attitude are significantly influencing entrepreneurial intention. Additionally, our analysis indicates that age and prior working experience affect entrepreneurial intention. The contribution of this study concerns the illumination of the scarcely addressed in the literature relationship between age and work experience with entrepreneurial intention

Strategic management, the theory of the firm, and digitalization: Reintroducing a normative perspective

The theory of the firm, as we know it from the literature, focuses on the boundary question. Recently, the idea of ecosystems, an organizational arrangement that lies somewhere between the firm and the market poles, has been promoted as an adequate response to the ongoing trend of digitalization (Jacobides, Cennamo, & Gawer, 2018). What is missing in the extant literature is an answer to or reflection on the normative question of what role business firms should or could play in modern societies, where major (“grand”) challenges such as climate change, poverty, migration, and rising inequality are seen (George, Howard-Grenville, Joshi, & Tihanyi, 2016). Thus, a core element of the traditional theory of the firm has been neglected, with the consequence that its social relevance is no longer evident. We focus on the strategic management discipline, with an aim to reintroduce the lost normative perspective and to provide a guideline for future theorizing about business firms as well as guidelines for practice. The three cornerstones of our framework are (de-) growth, sustainability, and digitalization. We emphasize the digitalization angle and elaborate on what we call the “common good orientation” of digitalization, using the key terms “internet as a commons”, “open-source”, and “cooperative platforms”

A study of cointegration of gold market of the emerging and developed economies

Gold, which is considered to be the most precious metal (Bilal, Talib, Haq, Khan, & Naveed, 2013), from ancient times has been considered as a very conservative investment. Studies examining the utility of gold have found evidence in favour of gold as a source of the hedge (Narayan, Narayan, & Zheng, 2010; Bampinas & Panagiotidis, 2015), diversification (Ibrahim, 2012; Hoang, Lean, & Wong, 2015), as well as a safe haven in times of adverse market movements (Ciner, Gurdgiev, & Lucey, 2013; Bredin, Conlon, & Potì, 2015). This paper attempts to study how global gold price trends impact domestic gold prices and domestic gold price trends contemplate in international gold markets. The study has been based on 3157 observations of daily data recorded over a period of 13 years – from March 2005 to December 2018 – to show the relationship between the USA and India’s gold market. This paper fills the need for empirical evidence for the short and long-term interrelation between India and USA gold markets and the results show no evidence of a long-term association between Indian and COMEX gold spot prices.

Big Five personality traits and students’ satisfaction with synchronous online academic learning (SOAL)

The purpose of this study is to identify the role personality plays in students’ satisfaction with synchronous online academic learning (SOAL), especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the literature, overall students’ satisfaction with SOAL depends on a number of factors including the quality of SOAL, the quality of the course design, the responsiveness of the instructors, the institutional preparedness, the infrastructure available, and the fairness of the evaluation system. To fully explore the students’ satisfaction with SOAL it is important to examine another important aspect that relates to students’ personalities. For the purpose of this research, an online questionnaire was delivered to undergraduate business students of a public university in Athens during the first spring lockdown period of 2020. The findings of the study indicate that openness and conscientiousness, two of the big five personality traits, present a positive relationship with overall satisfaction with SOAL (Sahinidis & Tsaknis, 2021). They also revealed that students with higher levels of overall satisfaction with SOAL present higher levels of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, and agreeableness but lower levels of neuroticism. This research study will make a remarkable contribution to the literature regarding the relationship between personality and students’ satisfaction with SOAL