Governance as a source of managerial discipline

Anglo-American stock markets are much larger than their continental counterparts. Does investor protection and governance explain these differences? Using UK data, we examine four different forms of intervention which are suppose to promote good governance: takeovers, independent directors, outside shareholders, and providers of new finance. Which of these "four horses will win the race?". Institutional shareholders remain passive in the face of poor performance. Takeovers are effective in replacing management but are not focussed on poorly performing companies. Independent directors entrench poor performers and do not discipline management; they are advisors not monitors. The only effective mechanism for replacing management of poor performers and the providers of outside finance. When a poor performer needs outside finance, only then are outside shareholders willing to impose management changes. Is governance in Continental Europe more effective? The answer is not obviously so. Indeed in one important respect Germany looks worse. When there are major changes of ownership, the gains accruing to shareholders are much lower than in the UK or US. Moreover, those gains accrue to large German shareholders. Smaller shareholders hardly gain at all. One explanation is that restructuring German companies is more difficult and more costly than in the US or UK.

Corporate governance in the UK : contrasted with the US system

Corporate Governance, Vergleich, Großbritannien, Vereinigte Staaten, Comparison, United Kingdom, United states

The Origins of the German Corporation – Finance, Ownership and Control

The ownership of German corporations is quite different today from that of Anglo-American firms. How did this come about? To what extent is it attributable to regulation? A specially constructed data set on financing and ownership of German corporations from the end of the 19th century reveals that, as in the UK, there was a high degree of activity on German stock markets with firms issuing equity in preference to borrowing from banks, and insider and family ownership declining rapidly. However, unlike in the UK, other companies and banks emerged as the main holders of equity, with banks holding shares primarily as custodians of other investors rather than on their own account. The changing pattern of ownership concentration was therefore very different from that of the UK with regulation reinforcing the control that banks exercised on behalf of other investors

Spending Less Time with the Family: The Decline of Family Ownership in the UK

Family ownership was rapidly diluted in the twentieth century in Britain. The main cause was equity issued in the process of making acquisitions. In the first half of the century, it occurred in the absence of minority investor protection and relied on directors of target firms protecting the interests of shareholders. Families were able to retain control by occupying a disproportionate number of seats on the boards of firms. However, in the absence of large stakes, the rise of hostile takeovers and institutional shareholders made it increasingly difficult for families to maintain control without challenge. Potential targets attempted to protect themselves through dual class shares and strategic share blocks but these were dismantled in response to opposition by institutional shareholders and the London Stock Exchange. The result was a regulated market in corporate control and a capital market that looked very different from its European counterparts. Thus, while acquisitions facilitated the growth of family controlled firms in the first half of the century, they also diluted their ownership and ultimately their control in the second half.

The Origins of the German Corporation – Finance, Ownership and Control

The ownership of German corporations is quite different today from that of Anglo-American firms. How did this come about? To what extent is it attributable to regulation? A specially constructed data set on financing and ownership of German corporations from the end of the 19th century reveals that, as in the UK, there was a high degree of activity on German stock markets with firms issuing equity in preference to borrowing from banks, and insider and family ownership declining rapidly. However, unlike in the UK, other companies and banks emerged as the main holders of equity, with banks holding shares primarily as custodians of other investors rather than on their own account. The changing pattern of ownership concentration was therefore very different from that of the UK with regulation reinforcing the control that banks exercised on behalf of other investors.Evolution of ownership; German stock markets; financial regulation

Iodine Monochloride Investigations

The purpose of the research was to investigate the reactions of iodine monochloride with non-aromatic and aromatic compounds. The role which this reagent plays in these reactions, the use of various catalysts, and the products obtained were to be studied. It was the immediate object of these investigations to attempt a synthesis of cyclohenzyl iodine directly from cyclohezene using iodine monochloride as the iodinating agent. In studying the non-aromatic compounds in this project, cyclohexene was chosen since it is readily available and yields a single product upon mono-substitution. The major portion of this thesis is concerned with the reaction which takes place when iodine monochloride is brought in contact with cyclohexene in the presence of anhydrous aluminum chloride

Evaluating the Logistic Performance Capability of Regeneration Processes

For years now, it has been recognized that logistic performance capability contributes enormously to a production enterprise's competitiveness and as such is a critical control lever. In doing so, the orientation on customer wishes (e.g. delivery dates) represents a key parameter not only in the value-adding production but also in product regeneration. Since production and regeneration processes have different characteristics, production planning and control measures cannot be directly transferred to regeneration processes. As part of a special research project, the Institute of Production Systems and Logistics Hannover is focused on increasing the logistic performance capability of regeneration processes for complex capital goods. The aim is to ensure logistic targets are met by implementing a model specifically designed to align the capacities and load in regeneration processes

Modeling of Carbon Black Fragmentation During High‐Intensity Dry Mixing Using the Population Balance Equation and the Discrete Element Method

A complex interaction between the process design and the properties of carbon black (CB) during dry mixing of cathode material influences the microstructure and thus the performance of the Li-ion battery. The description of these interactions by means of a coupling of the mixing process simulation and the fragmentation of CB is the focus of this work. The discrete element method provides information about the frequency and intensity of the stress. The change of the CB size distribution is done by the population balance equation. The material strength as well as the fracture behavior are represented with simple models. The calibration of the model parameters is performed using the Nelder–Mead algorithm. The calibrated models provide good agreement with the measurements of the size distributions from experimental investigations. Transfer of the calibrated parameters to other process settings is possible and provides good agreement in some cases. Recalibration of the fracture behavior improves the accuracy of the model so that it can be used as a predictive tool