Managing the Czech Joint-Stock Companies – Failure of Economic Transformation

The aim of this paper is to analyse whether legal rules, set up during the first years of the economic transition, could stimulate behaviour of economic subjects so that it would lead to desired results in macroeconomic benchmarks. This problem is solved using a case of joint-stock companies management (i.e. both ways and possibilities of their administration) in the Czech Republic during the 1990s

Recruitment and selection processes through an effective GDSS

[[abstract]]This study proposes a group decision support system (GDSS), with multiple criteria to assist in recruitment and selection (R&S) processes of human resources. A two-phase decision-making procedure is first suggested; various techniques involving multiple criteria and group participation are then defined corresponding to each step in the procedure. A wide scope of personnel characteristics is evaluated, and the concept of consensus is enhanced. The procedure recommended herein is expected to be more effective than traditional approaches. In addition, the procedure is implemented on a network-based PC system with web interfaces to support the R&S activities. In the final stage, key personnel at a human resources department of a chemical company in southern Taiwan authenticated the feasibility of the illustrated example.[[notice]]補正完畢[[journaltype]]國內[[incitationindex]]SCI[[incitationindex]]E

Moral, wasteful, frugal, or thrifty? Identifying consumer identities to understand and manage pro-environmental behaviour

Moral motives are important for pro-environmental behavior. But such behavior is not only motivated by moral or environmental concerns. We examined what higher order motives, other than morality, may be important for understanding pro-environmental behavior, by studying consumer identities. In three studies (N = 877) four consumer identities were distinguished: moral, wasteful, frugal, and thrifty. Frugal and moral consumer identities were most salient and were the strongest predictors of pro-environmental behaviors, but in different ways. Frugality, which is related to, but distinct from thriftiness, was particularly important for behaviors associated with waste reduction of any kind (including money). The findings suggest that people adopt the same behavior for different reasons, in ways consistent with their consumer identities. People manage multiple consumer identities simultaneously, and environmental policy is likely to be more effective if it addresses these multiple identities

Deal Protection Devices

In mergers and acquisitions transactions, a buyer and a seller will often agree to contractual mechanisms (deal protection devices) to deter third parties from jumping the deal and to compensate a disappointed buyer. With the help of auction theory, this Article analyzes various deal protection devices, while focusing on the two most commonly used mechanisms: match rights and target termination fees. A match right gives the buyer a right to “match” a third party’s offer so as to prevent the third party from snatching the target away, while a termination fee compensates the buyer when a third party acquires the target. Such mechanisms raise a number of important corporate and contract law questions. How effective are they in preventing third parties from competing for the target? Do they steer the target to be sold to a buyer who values the target less? Are the devices harmful to the target shareholders? To what extent can the negotiated deal price represent the target’s “fair value” when such devices reduce or eliminate the competition? This Article shows, foremost, that these devices can actually increase the target and buyer’s joint return and possibly the target’s stand-alone return. Match rights and termination fees function quite differently, however. While a large termination fee reduces the target’s stand-alone return and can lead to allocative inefficiency, an unlimited match right increases the target’s stand-alone return and promotes allocative efficiency. This Article argues that answering the corporate law questions ultimately turns on the question of how and why the target directors are utilizing the devices. If the devices are being deployed with the objective of maximizing the target shareholders’ return, not only can they be beneficial for the target shareholders, but their presence can also make the deal price a more reliable indicator of the target’s fair value. With an improper objective, not only do the devices undermine target shareholders’ return, but the court also should not use the deal price as evidence of fair value. This Article also analyzes stock and asset lockups and examines deal protection devices through the lens of contract law