Corporate governance and family firm performance during the Global Financial Crisis

We investigate the impact of corporate governance on accounting and market performance relationships of family firms during the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). We expect the monitoring aspects of corporate governance to complement the long-term orientation of family firms, improving the value relevance of accounting and market performance during times of exogenous financial shocks such as the GFC. We find that the family-firm value is more sensitive to book value than earnings changes. We also find better corporate governance, irrespective of whether it is a family firm or non-family firm, is associated with better accounting and market performance during the GFC

Time Trails: ‘presencing’ digital heritage within our everyday lives

The Time Trails project is a collaboration between the Centre for Intermedia at the University of Exeter, Royal Albert Memorial Museum and Art Gallery, 1010 Media, and Exeter City Football Club Supporters Trust (2013). It is a mobile web app to allow users to follow, annotate and create trails using text, images and videos, and to respond to them via social media. Two trails narrating the history of Exeter City Football Club and its Supporters Trust, used for mobile learning and as part of sport and cultural tourism experiences are presented. We show how Time Trails can be used as a presencing tool to establish new ways of encountering and learning on digital heritage within our daily lives

The impact of board size on firm performance: evidence from the UK

We examine the impact of board size on firm performance for a large sample of 2746 UK listed firms over 1981-2002. The UK provides an interesting institutional setting, because UK boards play a weak monitoring role and therefore any negative effect of large board size is likely to reflect the malfunction of the board's advisory rather than monitoring role. We find that board size has a strong negative impact on profitability, Tobin's Q and share returns. This result is robust across econometric models that control for different types of endogeneity. We find no evidence that firm characteristics that determine board size in the UK lead to a more positive board size-firm performance relation. In contrast, we find that the negative relation is strongest for large firms, which tend to have larger boards. Overall, our evidence supports the argument that problems of poor communication and decision-making undermine the effectiveness of large boards

Mayfly production in a New Zealand glacial stream and the potential effect of climate change

Abstract In contrast to the northern hemisphere where species of Chironomidae are usually the dominant benthic invertebrates in the coldest upper reaches of glacial streams, mayflies (Deleatidium spp.: Leptophlebiidae) predominate in equivalent conditions in New Zealand. We examined the life histories and annual production of Deleatidium spp. at two sites on the Matukituki River (South Island, New Zealand) and at three sites in its glacier-fed tributary, Rob Roy Stream. Mean annual water temperature at the five sites ranged from 2.1 to 7.0°C. Monthly sampling showed that mayfly populations were poorly synchronised at all sites but were probably univoltine. The large Deleatidium cornutum was the dominant mayfly species found at the upper sites (Sites 1 and 2) on Rob Roy Stream, whereas above the confluence with Matukituki River (Site 3) it co-existed with a complex of smaller species we refer to as D. ''angustum''. Deleatidium ''angustum'' also dominated at the Matukituki sites. Deleatidium production calculated for the five sites, assuming an 11-month nymphal life, ranged from 0.48 g dry weight/m 2 /year (Site 1) to 3.07 g dry weight/m 2 /year (Site 3). The values for D. cornutum at Sites 2 and 3 are high for a species of Deleatidium and reflect its large size. This species appears to be strongly adapted for growth at low temperatures. Climate change scenarios for New Zealand predict the gradual and ultimate loss of small South Island glaciers and a consequent warming of streams as runoff from rainfall and snow melt becomes more dominant in spring. As a result, suitable habitats will be lost for cold-water specialists such as D. cornutum, and they are likely to suffer reductions in their distributional range and local extinction. In contrast, species such as those in the D. ''angustum'' complex may extend their ranges into streams formerly dominated by glacial meltwater

Beyond shareholder primacy? Reflections on the trajectory of UK corporate governance.

Core institutions of UK corporate governance, in particular the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers, the Combined Code on Corporate Governance and the law on directors’ duties, are strongly orientated towards the norm of shareholder primacy. Beyond the core, however, stakeholder interests are better represented, in particular at the intersection of insolvency and employment law. This reflects the influence of European Community laws on information and consultation of employees. In addition, there are signs that some institutional shareholders are redirecting their investment strategies, under government encouragement, away from a focus on short-term returns, in such a way as to favour stakeholder-inclusive practices by firms. On this basis we suggest that the UK system is currently in a state of flux and that the debate over shareholder primacy has not been concluded

Governance disclosure quality and market valuation of firms

This study develops a ‘comply or explain’ index which captures compliance and quality of explanations given for non-compliance with the corporate governance codes in UK and Germany. In particular, we explain, how compliance and quality of explanations provided in non-compliance disclosures, and various other internal corporate governance mechanisms, affect the market valuation of firms in the two countries. A dynamic generalised method of moments (GMM) estimator is employed as the research technique for our analysis, which enabled us to control for the potential effects of endogeneity in our models. The findings of our content analysis suggest that firms exhibit significant differences in compliance, board independence and ownership structure in both countries. The ‘comply or explain’ index is positively associated with the market valuation of UK firms suggesting that compliance and quality governance disclosure is value relevant in the UK. Institutional blockholders’ ownership is however, negatively associated with the market value of firms, which raises questions about the monitoring role of institutional shareholders in both countries. We argue that both compliance and explanations given for non-compliance are equally important, as long as valid reasons and justifications for non-compliance are provided by the reporting companies. These findings thus imply that the ‘comply or explain’ principle is working well and that UK and German companies could benefit from the flexibility offered by this principle. With respect to the role of board size, board independence, ownership structure, and institutional ownership of firms, this study offers policy implications

Governance tools for board members : adapting strategy maps and balanced scorecards for directorial action

The accountability of members of the board of directors of publicly traded companies has increased over years. Corresponding to these developments, there has been an inadequate advancement of tools and frameworks to help directorial functioning. This paper provides an argument for design of the Balanced Scorecard and Strategy Maps made available to the directors as a means of influencing, monitoring, controlling and assisting managerial action. This paper examines how the Balanced Scorecard and Strategy Maps could be modified and used for this purpose. The paper suggests incorporating Balanced Scorecards in the Internal Process perspective, ‘internal’ implying here not just ‘internal to the firm’, but also ‘internal to the inter-organizational system’. We recommend that other such factors be introduced separately under a new ‘perspective’ depending upon what the board wants to emphasize without creating any unwieldy proliferation of measures. Tracking the Strategy Map over time by the board of directors is a way for the board to take responsibility for the firm’s performance. The paper makes a distinction between action variables and monitoring variables. Monitoring variables are further divided on the basis of two considerations: a) whether results have been met or not and b) whether causative factors have met the expected levels of performance or not. Based on directorial responsibilities and accountability, we take another look at how the variables could be specified more completely and accurately with directorial recommendations for executives

Pulses of Class I PI3kinase activity identify the release and recapture of prey from neutrophil phagosomes

Class I PI3kinases coordinate the delivery of microbicidal effectors to the phagosome by forming the phosphoinositide lipid second messenger, phosphatidylinositol (3, 4, 5)-trisphosphate (PIP3). However, the dynamics of PIP3 in neutrophils during a bacterial infection are unknown. We have therefore developed an in vivo, live zebrafish infection model that enables visualisation of dynamic changes in Class 1 PI3kinases (PI3K) signalling on neutrophil phagosomes in real-time. We have identified that on approximately 12% of neutrophil phagosomes PHAkt-eGFP, a reporter for Class 1 PI3K signalling, re-recruits in pulsatile bursts. This phenomenon occurred on phagosomes containingstructurally and morphologically distinct prey, including Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium abscessus, and was dependent on the activity of the Class 1 PI3K isoform, PI3kinase γ. Detailed imaging suggested that ‘pulsing phagosomes’ represent neutrophils transiently reopening and reclosing phagosomes. This finding challenges the concept that phagosomes remain closed after preyengulfment and we propose that neutrophils occasionally use this alternative pathway of phagosome maturation to release phagosome contents and/or to restart phagosome maturation if digestion has stalle