Multiple agency perspective, family control, and private information abuse in an emerging economy

Using a comprehensive sample of listed companies in Hong Kong this paper investigates how family control affects private information abuses and firm performance in emerging economies. We combine research on stock market microstructure with more recent studies of multiple agency perspectives and argue that family ownership and control over the board increases the risk of private information abuse. This, in turn, has a negative impact on stock market performance. Family control is associated with an incentive to distort information disclosure to minority shareholders and obtain private benefits of control. However, the multiple agency roles of controlling families may have different governance properties in terms of investors’ perceptions of private information abuse. These findings contribute to our understanding of the conflicting evidence on the governance role of family control within a multiple agency perspectiv

Corticospinal excitability is facilitated by combined action observation and motor imagery of a basketball free throw

Objectives This experiment aimed to establish the extent to which independent action observation, independent motor imagery and combined action observation and motor imagery of a sport-related motor skill would elicit activity within the motor system. Design and method Eighteen, right-handed, male participants engaged in four conditions following a repeated measures design. The experimental conditions involved action observation, motor imagery, or combined action observation and motor imagery of a basketball free throw, whilst the control condition involved observation of a static image of a basketball player holding a basketball. In all conditions, single pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation was delivered to the forearm representation of the left motor cortex. The amplitude of the resulting motor evoked potentials were recorded from the flexor carpi ulnaris and extensor carpi ulnaris muscles of the right forearm and used as a marker of corticospinal excitability. Results Corticospinal excitability was facilitated significantly by combined action observation and motor imagery of the basketball free throw, in comparison to both the action observation and control conditions. In contrast, the independent use of either action observation or motor imagery did not facilitate corticospinal excitability compared to the control condition. Conclusions The findings have implications for the design and delivery of action observation and motor imagery interventions in sport. As corticospinal excitability was facilitated by the use of combined action observation and motor imagery, researchers should seek to establish the efficacy of implementing combined action observation and motor imagery interventions for improving motor skill performance and learning in applied sporting settings

Mitigation of Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection in Venture Capital Financing: The Influence of the Country’s Institutional Setting

A venture capitalist (VC) needs to trade off benefits and costs when attempting to mitigate agency problems in their investor-investee relationship. We argue that signals of ventures complement the VC’s capacity to screen and conduct a due diligence during the pre-investment phase, but its attractiveness may diminish in institutional settings supporting greater transparency. Similarly, whereas a VC may opt for contractual covenants to curb potential opportunism by ventures in the post-investment phase, this may only be effective in settings supportive of shareholder rights enforcement. Using an international sample of VC contracts, our study finds broad support for these conjectures. It delineates theoretical and practical implications for how investors can best deploy their capital in different institutional settings whilst nurturing their relationships with entrepreneurs

Effects of multicomponent training and detraining on the fitness of older adults with or at risk of frailty: results of a 10-month quasi-experimental study

The aims of this study were (1) to analyse the effects of a 6-month multicomponent training (MCT) on the physical fitness of older adults with or at risk of frailty; (2) to study the consequences of a 4-month detraining period; (3) to analyse the influence of frailty status on the training and detraining adaptations. A total of 102 robust, frail and prefrail older adults (80.1 ± 6.1 y) were divided into an intervention (TRAIN) and control group (CON). The TRAIN performed a 6-month MCT, while the CON continued with their usual lifestyle. Fitness assessment was mainly based on the Senior Fitness Test. Four evaluations were carried out; at baseline, and at 3, 6 and 10 months from baseline. Linear mixed models were performed to analyse group by time interactions and to compare differences in changes within groups between different time points. After 6-month MCT, TRAIN showed greater improvements for all fitness variables (group effects p < 0.05, except for flexibility) when compared to the CON. During the 4-month detraining period, TRAIN significantly decreased their balance, upper-limb flexibility and upper and lower-limb strength (all p < 0.05). CON only decreased upper-limb flexibility. When accounting for frailty status in the TRAIN, the frail-prefrail showed lower adaptations to the training and were more affected by detraining than the robust. The presented MCT is a good strategy to improve fitness in this population, but its positive effects are limited in time. It is, therefore, critical to avoid detraining periods

Corporate governance and financial constraints on strategic turnarounds

The paper extends the Robbins and Pearce (1992) two-stage turnaround response model to include governance factors. In addition to the retrenchment and recovery, the paper proposes the addition of a realignment stage, referring specifically to the re-alignment of expectations of principal and agent groups. The realignment stage imposes a threshold that must be crossed before the retrenchment and hence recovery stage can be entered. Crossing this threshold is problematic to the extent that the interests of governance-stakeholder groups diverge in a crisis situation. The severity of the crisis impacts on the bases of strategy contingent asset valuation leading to the fragmentation of stakeholder interests. In some cases the consequence may be that management are prevented from carrying out turnarounds by governance constraints. The paper uses a case study to illustrate these dynamics, and like the Robbins and Pearce study, it focuses on the textile industry. A longitudinal approach is used to show the impact of the removal of governance constraints. The empirical evidence suggests that such financial constraints become less serious to the extent that there is a functioning market for corporate control. Building on governance research and turnaround literature, the paper also outlines the general case necessary and sufficient conditions for successful turnarounds

Angel investor's selection criteria: a comparative institutional perspective

Despite the important role of angel investors as critical financial providers for new ventures, little is known regarding how institutions make their investment decisions. While angels make decisions based on selection criteria during the first stage, they are also embedded within and affected by different institutional settings and as a result weight these criteria differently than other investors. We compare angel investors' selection criteria in China and Denmark using the comparative institutional perspective. We use a policy capturing approach and hierarchy linear modeling, revealing that since Chinese angels are embedded within relationship-based institutional settings they tend to reply more on strong ties such as family and friends in management team, as well as weighting risks less compared to Danish angels operating within more rule-based institutional contexts

Controls on gut phosphatisation : the trilobites from the Weeks Formation Lagerstätte (Cambrian; Utah)

Despite being internal organs, digestive structures are frequently preserved in Cambrian Lagerstätten. However, the reasons for their fossilisation and their biological implications remain to be thoroughly explored. This is particularly true with arthropods--typically the most diverse fossilised organisms in Cambrian ecosystems--where digestive structures represent an as-yet underexploited alternative to appendage morphology for inferences on their biology. Here we describe the phosphatised digestive structures of three trilobite species from the Cambrian Weeks Formation Lagerstätte (Utah). Their exquisite, three-dimensional preservation reveals unique details on trilobite internal anatomy, such as the position of the mouth and the absence of a differentiated crop. In addition, the presence of paired pygidial organs of an unknown function is reported for the first time. This exceptional material enables exploration of the relationships between gut phosphatisation and the biology of organisms. Indeed, soft-tissue preservation is unusual in these fossils as it is restricted to the digestive structures, which indicates that the gut played a central role in its own phosphatisation. We hypothesize that the gut provided a microenvironment where special conditions could develop and harboured a source of phosphorus. The fact that gut phosphatization has almost exclusively been observed in arthropods could be explained by their uncommon ability to store ions (including phosphorous) in their digestive tissues. However, in some specimens from the Weeks Formation, the phosphatisation extends to the entire digestive system, suggesting that trilobites might have had some biological particularities not observed in modern arthropods. We speculate that one of them might have been an increased capacity for ion storage in the gut tissues, related to the moulting of their heavily-mineralised carapace

Lending Crowdfunding : Principles and Market Development

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Pannexin 1 drives efficient epithelial repair after tissue injury

Epithelial tissues such as lung and skin are exposed to the environment and therefore particularly vulnerable to damage during injury or infection. Rapid repair is therefore essential to restore function and organ homeostasis. Dysregulated epithelial tissue repair occurs in several human disease states, yet how individual cell types communicate and interact to coordinate tissue regeneration is incompletely understood. Here, we show that pannexin 1 (Panx1), a cell membrane channel activated by caspases in dying cells, drives efficient epithelial regeneration after tissue injury by regulating injury-induced epithelial proliferation. Lung airway epithelial injury promotes the Panx1-dependent release of factors including ATP, from dying epithelial cells, which regulates macrophage phenotype after injury. This process, in turn, induces a reparative response in tissue macrophages that includes the induction of the soluble mitogen amphiregulin, which promotes injury-induced epithelial proliferation. Analysis of regenerating lung epithelium identified Panx1-dependent induction of Nras and Bcas2, both of which positively promoted epithelial proliferation and tissue regeneration in vivo. We also established that this role of Panx1 in boosting epithelial repair after injury is conserved between mouse lung and zebrafish tailfin. These data identify a Panx1-mediated communication circuit between epithelial cells and macrophages as a key step in promoting epithelial regeneration after injury