Potential applications of structured commodity financing techniques for banks in developing countries

This paper discusses of a number of innovative financial techniques that can be used by developing country banks to open up new financing possibilities in the commodities sector, for industries servicing the commodity sector, and for financing on the basis of "commoditized" income streams. This includes techniques such as factoring and forfaiting, countertrade, warehouse receipt finance, prepayments, export receivables finance, Islamic finance, structured import finance, and securitization. A number of practical models for developing country banks are described.agricultural finance structured finance repos banks securitization

Networks in the early stage risk capital market.

Despite the wide interest in the role of social capital theory in entrepreneurship, there is scarce literature which uses this theoretical framework to study venture capital finance. Indeed, this literature, aiming at describing the investor’s due diligence process, has used methodologies and theoretical framework which most of the times have not considered the sociological aspect. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate how entrepreneurial network theory could be used in the field of entrepreneurial finance. To achieve this, this thesis is made up of three papers which investigate different research questions regarding venture capital finance literature by drawing on sociological theory and entrepreneurial network theory and by using statistical model (Exponential Random Graph Model) and software (R and UCINET). By using this integrated approach, this study explains the importance of network in the early stage equity market both for investors to reduce the uncertainty of the investment, and for the entrepreneurs to increase new venture’s chance to get resources and to survive. This thesis provides a meaningful pathway for future research and insights to practitioners

Overcoming network overload and redundancy in inter-organizational networks:the roles of potential and latent ties

This paper builds on Granovetter's distinction between strong and weak ties [Granovetter, M. S. 1973. The strength of weak ties. Amer. J. Sociol. 78(6) 1360–1380] in order to respond to recent calls for a more dynamic and processual understanding of networks. The concepts of potential and latent tie are deductively identified, and their implications for understanding how and why networks emerge, evolve, and change are explored. A longitudinal empirical study conducted with companies operating in the European motorsport industry reveals that firms take strategic actions to search for potential ties and reactivate latent ties in order to solve problems of network redundancy and overload. Examples are given, and their characteristics are examined to provide theoretical elaboration of the relationship between the types of tie and network evolution. These conceptual and empirical insights move understanding of the managerial challenge of building effective networks beyond static structural contingency models of optimal network forms to highlight the processes and capabilities of dynamic relationship building and network development. In so doing, this paper highlights the interrelationship between search and redundancy and the scope for strategic action alongside path dependence and structural influences on network processes

Effects of procurement practices on quality of medical device or service received: a qualitative study comparing countries

We know little about how procurement of a high-risk medical device (HRMD) affects clinical practice and outcomes. In health systems in high-income countries, and specifically those that maintain a national arthroplasty registry, procurement decisions are frequently guided by long-term clinical results, with the goal of ensuring at least standard quality of HRMDs. But in countries like Mexico, decision-making is often dominated by lowest acquisition price. We set out to study the impact of procurement for orthopaedic HRMDs on clinical procedures and outcomes.; We based our qualitative study on 59 in-depth interviews with stakeholders from Mexico, Switzerland, Germany, and UK: orthopaedic specialists, government officials, other experts, and social security system managers or administrators. We took a healthcare delivery approach to capturing and comparing factors that affected the regulations of HRMDs and procurement processes, and to understanding connections between procurement and clinical practice.; Our findings demonstrate for procurement processes that the three European countries compared to Mexico don't have similar concerns with regards to their procurement processes. Deficiencies of procurement regulations and practices identified from representatives in Mexico were almost absent in European countries. We identified three areas of deficiency: 1) HRMD regulations based on insufficiently robust clinical evidence (mainly noted by European countries); 2) Follow-up on Health Technology Assessments is inadequate (noted by Mexico) and methodology not always good enough (noted by European countries); and, 3) Lowest-acquisition price often guides procurement decisions and thus may not align with needs of clinical procedures (noted by Mexico and some European countries).; Procurement processes for orthopaedic HRMDs may have an impact on clinical procedures and outcomes. A favourable approach is one where orthopaedic specialists are parties to the procurement process, and post-market surveillance data informs decision-making. Actors in the procurement process can improve their impact on clinical procedures and outcomes by developing specific strategies that better align the needs of both, procurement and clinical procedures

Selling Solar: Financing Household Solar Energy in the Developing World

Based on value chain analyses of case studies, outlines the issues and challenges for developing a solar energy industry, with a focus on the need for a financing infrastructure that serves purchasers, manufacturers, distributors, and investors

International Venture Capital Firms Syndication and Performance: A Social Network Perspective

Despite a growing body of research on venture capital firms, the process by which venture capital firms invest across borders remains unclear. This three-essay dissertation integrates the literature on venture capital firms, social network theory, and international alliances to examine following research questions: 1) How do network characteristics (i.e., structure and composition) of the international venture capital firms and their potential partners impact their syndication behavior? 2) What configurations of the ventures\u27 and the international venture capital firms\u27 attributes is associated with syndication in emerging markets? and 3) Does the host country influence the international venture capital firms\u27 syndication behavior and performance? While there is a plethora of empirical studies on domestic venture capital activities and cross country comparison of the venture capital industry, there is a lack of research that looks at the process of the venture capital firms\u27 international investments and explores the factors that influence the process of such investments. Essay I addresses this gap by developing a theoretical framework examining how network structure and composition of the both focal foreign venture capital firms potential partners operating in the host country can impact their syndication behavior. The major network constructs constituting the framework are network centrality, density, and diversity. The theoretical argument suggests that all of these factors can play a significant role in the venture capital firms\u27 decision with regard to syndication. The major contribution of this essay is introducing the network attributes as the antecedent mechanisms impacting the syndication likelihood. Also, this study expands the level of the analysis in this literature, from the firm to its network. Essay II examines how venture s\u27 risk factors (information asymmetry and technical complexity) and venture capital firms attributes (social status in the home and host countries and general and host country experiences) configure in syndicated deals applying fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis. The results show that the venture riskiness is a more important factor driving the syndication decision compared to the venture capital firm\u27s capabilities (identified through the social status and experience). Further, the venture capital firms\u27 capabilities do not substitute the syndication. In other words, even firms with high social status and significant experience are willing to syndicate their investments. Finally, I found that while syndication is not systematically associated with high performance, lack of syndication is associated with low performance. This result reveals the vital role of partner selection in the venture capital syndications. Theoretically, my results lend more support to the assumption that syndication is not significantly contingent upon the venture and venture capital attributes, and other motivations such as portfolio diversification and future reciprocation are more likely to drive the syndication decision. Essay III aims to examine whether venture capital firms alter their syndication strategy according to the host country attributes. The second research question in this essay is whether the performance of international venture capital firms systematically varies when they invest in different countries. Results provide support for the overall significant country effect on the syndication decision. Whether venture capital firms syndicate their investment or not is systematically and partially explained by the host country characteristics. The type of partner (domestic versus home country) also partially depends on the host country. Interestingly, the host country explains more variation of syndication with home country partners compared to domestic firms. Further, I found that the performance of the venture capital firms\u27 international investments varies with the variation of the host country. The host country effect is significantly greater when the foreign firms only syndicate with the domestic partners. There are also more fine grained analyses whose results have been presented in this essay. Thus, this essay contributes to the theory and practice by revealing the significant effect of the host country on the international venture capital firms strategy and performance. Results of this essay open new venues for future studies and shed light on the plausible directions for the future research investigating the phenomenon of the venture capital firms\u27 internationalization

International business theory and the criminal multinational enterprise

Criminal syndicates have been around for millennia. While some were founded to undertake cross-border activities, others have expanded internationally, evolving into sophisticated organizations that mimic multinational enterprises. The growing prevalence of criminal multinational enterprises (CMNEs) provides an opportunity to revisit international business theory, particularly internalization theory. We start by defining the CMNE, explaining its rise and interface with legitimate multinationals, and establishing similarities and differences with legitimate multinational enterprises. Then, we use the CMNE to “stress-test” the internalization theory of the multinational enterprise, set its boundaries, and offer theoretical development by way of extension, qualification, and refinement

International business theory and the criminal multinational enterprise

Criminal syndicates have been around for millennia. While some were founded to undertake cross-border activities, others have expanded internationally, evolving into sophisticated organizations that mimic multinational enterprises. The growing prevalence of criminal multinational enterprises (CMNEs) provides an opportunity to revisit international business theory, particularly internalization theory. We start by defining the CMNE, explaining its rise and interface with legitimate multinationals, and establishing similarities and differences with legitimate multinational enterprises. Then, we use the CMNE to “stress-test” the internalization theory of the multinational enterprise, set its boundaries, and offer theoretical development by way of extension, qualification, and refinement