Agency Theory and Corporate Governance in China: A Meta-Analysis

Do agency theory-based “good corporate governance” principles indeed apply to China? A straightforward answer to this question is lacking, because evidence is inconclusive across studies. We endeavor to fill this gap by conducting the first meta-analysis on the China literature with two focuses. First, we assess the impact of (i) board independence, (ii) board leadership structure, and (iii) managerial incentives on firm performance, as these elements have been central to both agency theory as well as to Chinese corporate governance reforms. Second, we extend current theorizing by showing support for the temporal hypothesis, which states that over time, with the improvement in the quality of market institutions and development of financial markets, the monitoring mechanisms become more important whereas the incentive mechanisms lose their significance. In conclusion, in the world’s second-largest economy, agency theory is not only applicable but is also found to be more strongly supported than in its original context

Abstracts from the 20th International Symposium on Signal Transduction at the Blood-Brain Barriers

https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138963/1/12987_2017_Article_71.pd

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

CEO outside directorships and managerial efficiency: The role of host board capital

Research Question/Issue: Do CEO outside board directorships improve or reduce CEO managerial efficiency? What is the role of host board capital in this relationship?. Research Findings/Insights: We explore the value of CEO outside directorships on managerial efficiency by identifying a unique empirical setting where a CEO\u27s number of outside board seats is exogenously decreased by a merger that eliminates the board of a host firm the CEO is serving on. Using this event as our empirical instrument, we find that outside directorships decrease a CEO\u27s managerial efficiency while host board capital reduces this effect. Theoretical/Academic Implications: Proponents view outside board service as a valuable leadership development tool to mentor the CEO while others promulgating an agency view argue that outside board service detracts from the CEO\u27s ability to improve the efficiency of the home firm as it leads to busyness of the CEO. We shed light on this debate by arguing that CEO outside directorships might reduce CEO\u27s managerial efficiency; however, this effect might be contingent on the characteristics of the host board. Practitioner/Policy Implications: Our findings offer insights to practitioners about the value of multiple directorships and the importance of the host board capital while informing policy makers about the potential restrictions on outside board assignments

Exploring Student Perceptiosn of Offshoring

The current escalating global tariff war reflects public concern with offshoring associated with perceived loss of jobs and reduced national competitiveness. Accordingly, offshoring represents a crucial yet complex topic in business education as existing literature emphasizes how managers struggle to make objective offshoring decisions. With limited available pedagogical research however, educators are not fully aware of how students perceive offshoring and process offshoring decisions. This study subsequently applies realistic conflict theory (RCT) to provide an empirical assessment of student offshoring perceptions via survey data at one U.S. university. The results do not support RCT as positive perceptions of offshoring benefits are insufficient to overcome the effects of career concerns. Rather, offshoring benefits directly conflict with career concerns to influence offshoring resentment, which in turn, impacts offshoring decisions. Such results suggest that students are unduly biased in their offshoring perceptions, thereby elevating the importance and difficulty of effective offshoring education. As such, we offer a pedagogical framework and associated exercises from extant literature to help students critically assess offshoring

Differences in Student Offshoring Attitudes: Challenges in Teaching Offshoring

© 2020 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC. While offshoring represents a polarizing topic, limited pedagogical research helps us understand how to address diverse student offshoring views in the classroom. The present study fills this gap with a survey of undergraduate business students, revealing how resentment toward offshoring differs by student political views and global exposure. Furthermore, multi-group analysis shows how the antecedents and consequences of such disparate offshoring attitudes also differ depending on political views, global exposure, and gender. The findings thus shed light on the range of potential student offshoring biases, indicating that educators must help students critically process the confounding benefits and detriments of offshoring. We therefore close with a stakeholder analysis exercise to teach diverse offshoring perspectives

CEO outside directorships and managerial efficiency: The role of host board capital

Research Question/Issue: Do CEO outside board directorships improve or reduce CEO managerial efficiency? What is the role of host board capital in this relationship?. Research Findings/Insights: We explore the value of CEO outside directorships on managerial efficiency by identifying a unique empirical setting where a CEO\u27s number of outside board seats is exogenously decreased by a merger that eliminates the board of a host firm the CEO is serving on. Using this event as our empirical instrument, we find that outside directorships decrease a CEO\u27s managerial efficiency while host board capital reduces this effect. Theoretical/Academic Implications: Proponents view outside board service as a valuable leadership development tool to mentor the CEO while others promulgating an agency view argue that outside board service detracts from the CEO\u27s ability to improve the efficiency of the home firm as it leads to busyness of the CEO. We shed light on this debate by arguing that CEO outside directorships might reduce CEO\u27s managerial efficiency; however, this effect might be contingent on the characteristics of the host board. Practitioner/Policy Implications: Our findings offer insights to practitioners about the value of multiple directorships and the importance of the host board capital while informing policy makers about the potential restrictions on outside board assignments

Competing in (and out of) transition economies

Transition economies have become a new frontier for multinational enterprises (MNEs). This has introduced a highly dynamic competitive environment for domestic firms operating with such less developed institutions, especially those facing the threat of MNEs with superior capabilities. Drawing on the awareness-motivation-capability framework from the competitive dynamics literature, this paper develops a three-round framework that explores the evolution of the dynamic capabilities of domestic and foreign firms and the related competitive dynamics between them in (and eventually out of) transition economies. While previous research tends to focus on MNEs or domestic firms within transition economies, ours is one of the first efforts that systematically model the competitive interaction between them with a longitudinal perspective