Managerial compensation, ownership structure and profitability in Norwegian hydroelectric energy companies : N/A

Masteroppgave i økonomi og administrasjon - Universitetet i Agder 2009Today, the Norwegian energy sector is significantly dominated by public ownership, both directly and indirectly, and the sector has turned out to be very profitable compared to other sectors. This master thesis starts by introducing some concepts of corporate governance and the agency theory which will be the theoretical basis. The study attempts to determine the relationship between the level of fixed pay and profitability, and ownership structure and profitability of Norwegian hydroelectric energy companies. According to a tremendous amount of research conducted on these relationships in other industries and sectors, the level of compensation to the CEO, the number of owners and the size of the largest shareholder are explanatory factors to the profitability of each company. In this study, I will examine whether we can make the same generalization about the Norwegian energy industry, with regards to the extensive governmental and municipal ownership influence and the historical perspective regarding the monopolistic pre-1991 market conditions of these companies in Norway. The empirical data collection was based on all of the companies with total revenues exceeding NOK 100 millions, hence no regional or structural limitations. I have used regression analyses in order to carry out the research. Despite the vast amount of research on this field which indicates relations, I was not able to determine any relationship between the level of fixed pay or the number of owners and profitability in my population. However, I was able to indicate a weak positive relationship between owner concentration and profitability of the industry

The role of finance in the literature of entrepreneurial ecosystems

Financial access is considered a crucial element of entrepreneurship. Much of the literature focuses on how individual actors demand or supply finance, but rarely within the context of systemic entrepreneurship. The current entrepreneurial finance literature is fragmented and rooted in various traditions. However, the entrepreneur’s perceived role in aggregated wealth creation is currently being strengthened, most recently by the emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem perspective. This calls for exploring the role of finance in systemic entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ecosystems. By conducting a systematic literature review of financial determinants, sources and effects, the study synthesizes debates across the different research fields, i.e. finance, entrepreneurship and regional development. As the entrepreneurial ecosystem concept is considered a pre-paradigmatic approach, the paper argues that the role of finance depends on how we regard and define ecosystems. The state of knowledge is also underdeveloped due to the obstacles of acquiring longitudinal data. Such issues keep us from achieving a better evolutionary and processual understanding of the financial dynamics in ecosystems and, therefore, presents a promising avenue for future research.publishedVersio

Managerial compensation, ownership structure and profitability in Norwegian hydroelectric energy companies : N/A

Today, the Norwegian energy sector is significantly dominated by public ownership, both directly and indirectly, and the sector has turned out to be very profitable compared to other sectors. This master thesis starts by introducing some concepts of corporate governance and the agency theory which will be the theoretical basis. The study attempts to determine the relationship between the level of fixed pay and profitability, and ownership structure and profitability of Norwegian hydroelectric energy companies. According to a tremendous amount of research conducted on these relationships in other industries and sectors, the level of compensation to the CEO, the number of owners and the size of the largest shareholder are explanatory factors to the profitability of each company. In this study, I will examine whether we can make the same generalization about the Norwegian energy industry, with regards to the extensive governmental and municipal ownership influence and the historical perspective regarding the monopolistic pre-1991 market conditions of these companies in Norway. The empirical data collection was based on all of the companies with total revenues exceeding NOK 100 millions, hence no regional or structural limitations. I have used regression analyses in order to carry out the research. Despite the vast amount of research on this field which indicates relations, I was not able to determine any relationship between the level of fixed pay or the number of owners and profitability in my population. However, I was able to indicate a weak positive relationship between owner concentration and profitability of the industry

Regional determinants of access to entrepreneurial finance: a conceptualisation and empirical study in Norwegian startup ecosystems

This paper presents hypotheses and a novel examination of the influence of a set of conditional factors concerning regional industries, startup culture, ecosystem collaboration and non-financial investor resources on perceived access to startup finance. We conducted a survey of 131 nascent, early-phase or mature startups and founders associated with entrepreneurial ecosystems in rural and urban Norway. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Two main findings are that (1) startups that open up for outside involvement at an earlier phase experience better perceived access to finance and (2) unrelated ventures in homogenous industrial regions find it harder to attract finance. However, we found only a weak, indirect effect of ecosystem collaboration on perceived access to funding, which was mediated by access to non-financial resources. This study represents a rare empirical contribution to the literature on entrepreneurial ecosystems, and the findings provide empirical support for the feedback loops in ecosystems that have previously been theorized in the literature. These issues should be considered by policymakers who wish to promote ecosystem development

The role of finance in the literature of entrepreneurial ecosystems

Financial access is considered a crucial element of entrepreneurship. Much of the literature focuses on how individual actors demand or supply finance, but rarely within the context of systemic entrepreneurship. The current entrepreneurial finance literature is fragmented and rooted in various traditions. However, the entrepreneur’s perceived role in aggregated wealth creation is currently being strengthened, most recently by the emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem perspective. This calls for exploring the role of finance in systemic entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial ecosystems. By conducting a systematic literature review of financial determinants, sources and effects, the study synthesizes debates across the different research fields, i.e. finance, entrepreneurship and regional development. As the entrepreneurial ecosystem concept is considered a pre-paradigmatic approach, the paper argues that the role of finance depends on how we regard and define ecosystems. The state of knowledge is also underdeveloped due to the obstacles of acquiring longitudinal data. Such issues keep us from achieving a better evolutionary and processual understanding of the financial dynamics in ecosystems and, therefore, presents a promising avenue for future research

Banknæringen i endring: Kan innføring av EU-direktivet PSD2 redusere banker til en ren betalingsinfrastruktur?

I studien ser vi på hvordan EU-direktivet The Payment Services Directive (PSD2), som ble implementert i 2019, kan påvirke bankenes konkurransesituasjon, drift og strategier. Direktivet betyr at tredjepartsaktører (FinTechs, Facebook, Google eller Apple) kan bli opplysnings- og betalingsfullmektiger. Intervjuer med fire banker lokalisert helt eller delvis i Sogn og Fjordane utforsker hvilke endringer PSD2 medfører, og hvordan bankene imøtekommer disse. Hovedfunn avdekker en frykt for at PSD2 reduserer bankenes funksjon mot å bli betalingsinfrastrukturer