Corporate Governance Deviance

We develop the concept of corporate governance deviance and seek to understand why, when, and how a firm adopts governance practices that do not conform to the dominant governance logic. Drawing on institutional theory, coupled with both the entrepreneurship and corporate governance literature, we advance a middle-range theory of the antecedents of corporate governance deviance that considers both the institutional context and firm-level agency. Specifically, we highlight the centrality of a firm\u27s entrepreneurial identity as it interacts with the national governance logic to jointly create corporate governance discretion (i.e., the latitude of accessible governance practices) within the firm. We argue that as a firm\u27s governance discretion increases, it will be more likely to adopt overconforming or underconforming governance practices that deviate from established norms and practices. Moreover, we propose that adopting a deviant corporate governance practice is contingent on the governance regulatory environment and a firm\u27s corporate governance capacity. We conclude by advancing a new typology of corporate governance deviance based on a firm\u27s over- or underconformity with the dominant national logic, as well as its entrepreneurial identity motives. This globally relevant study refines and extends comparative corporate governance research and enriches our current understanding of the institutional logics perspective

Varieties of export-oriented entrepreneurship in Asia

This paper explores differences in the proportion of export-oriented early-stage entrepreneurial activity in 12 Asian countries. Drawing on varieties of capitalism theory, we find that Asian countries with high quality institutions are more likely to have higher proportions of young export-oriented firms. However, analysis on a 51 country data set indicates that Asian countries have significantly fewer young export-oriented firms than do non-Asian countries. Furthermore, the multi-country study reveals that countries with higher proportions of export-oriented entrepreneurial activity tend to have flexible industrial relations, high quality vocational training, and confrontational labor-employer relations, however the proportion of export-oriented new ventures is not related to the quality of corporate governance and inter-firm relations

Prosociality in business: a human empowerment framework

This study introduces a human empowerment framework to better understand why some businesses are more socially oriented than others in their policies and activities. Building on Welzel’s theory of emancipation, we argue that human empowerment—comprised of four components: action resources, emancipative values, social movement activity, and civic entitlements—enables, motivates, and entitles individuals to pursue social goals for their businesses. Using a sample of over 15,000 entrepreneurs from 43 countries, we report strong empirical evidence for two ecological effects of the framework components on prosociality. We find that human empowerment (1) lifts entrepreneurs’ willingness to choose a social orientation for their business, and (2) reinforces the gender effect on prosociality in business activity. We discuss the human empowerment framework’s added value in understanding how modernization processes fully leverage the potential of social business activities for societies

Language in international business: a review and agenda for future research

A fast growing number of studies demonstrates that language diversity influences almost all management decisions in modern multinational corporations. Whereas no doubt remains about the practical importance of language, the empirical investigation and theoretical conceptualization of its complex and multifaceted effects still presents a substantial challenge. To summarize and evaluate the current state of the literature in a coherent picture informing future research, we systematically review 264 articles on language in international business. We scrutinize the geographic distributions of data, evaluate the field’s achievements to date in terms of theories and methodologies, and summarize core findings by individual, group, firm, and country levels of analysis. For each of these dimensions, we then put forward a future research agenda. We encourage scholars to transcend disciplinary boundaries and to draw on, integrate, and test a variety of theories from disciplines such as psychology, linguistics, and neuroscience to gain a more profound understanding of language in international business. We advocate more multi-level studies and cross-national research collaborations and suggest greater attention to potential new data sources and means of analysis

International Human Resource Management: A Review of Three Texts

This special issue is dedicated to exploring the convergence and divergence of national systems of industrial relations (IR) and human resource management (HRM). Faced with increasingly competitive environments, multinational firms may adapt certain management practices which are then transmitted across countries. Parts One and Two of this special issue have explored the convergence-divergence debate in international human resource management (IHRM) research. We now turn our attention to three texts published in 2004 which attempt to synthesise and integrate IHRM research for researcher, student and practitioner audiences. The two entitled International Human Resource Management are theory-based review texts situating IHRM in the greater context of international management. The first IHRM is the long-awaited second edition edited by Anne-Wil Harzing and Joris Van Ruysseveldt; the other a fourth edition textbook now authored by Peter Dowling and Denise Welch. HRM in Europe: Evidence of Convergence? is edited by Chris Brewster, Wolfgang Mayrhofer and Michael Morley and reports twenty-three European countries' research findings from the Cranet survey. We now review the three texts separately, paying special attention to contributions to comparative IHRM and the convergence versus divergence debate

Gender in Management and Entrepreneurship: Four Recent Texts

Early research in entrepreneurship is characterised by a neglect of female entrepreneurs (Buttner & Moore, 1997) and a gender neutral approach (Baker, Aldrich & Liou, 1997). Today, the growing number of female entrepreneurs around the world (OECD, 2000) appears to be accompanied by an increase in published studies of the phenomenon. Here three of these manuscripts are reviewed, plus a fourth volume devoted to key concepts in gender studies

Amartya Sen's Development as Freedom

Amartya Kumar Sen was born in Bengal (then British India) in 1933 and grew up in Dhaka (now the capital of Bangladesh). Following his Indian college-level education, Sen undertook postgraduate studies at Cambridge University, and followed an international academic teaching and research career in the UK, the US and India. He is the only Asian recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in Economics, which he received in 1998 for his collective contributions to the field of welfare economics. He is particularly recognized for empirical research on poverty, inequality, and the causes of famine and also for defining the field of development studies to include technical analysis. Most of his research focuses on South Asia and Africa. Development as Freedom is Amartya Sen's first book after receiving the Nobel and the most widely read of all of his works. Based on the author's World Bank Fellow Lectures in 1996, this descriptive, non-technical overview of welfare economics argues that 'development' should be viewed not in terms of economic measures (e.g. GDP growth, average annual income) but in terms of the real 'freedoms' that people can enjoy such as economic facilities and social opportunities. Sen describes human freedom as both the primary end objective and the principle means of development; economic measures are merely the means to this end. Development as Freedomis an informal text that brings together multidisciplinary insights from politics, economics, ethics, economics, demography, and sociology. Sen frames development as the realization of freedom and the abolishment of 'unfreedoms' such as poverty, famine, and lack of political rights. Arguments are strongly supported with vivid accounts of real living and working conditions for men and women indeveloping communities in Asia and Africa. The book is best described as a model for examining issues of development in both economic and political terms, and not as a formula for implementing change. For example, Sen writes of the need to enhance human capabilities by eliminating suchunfreedoms as child labour and famine, but does not provide a structured roadmap of preventive measures and the long-term changes required for implementation. As such, Sen's treatise should be judged for how it creates awareness of development issues.Readers will be challenged to think of development in political terms, but those probing the text for rigorous research or linkages to implementation will be disappointed. This review will briefly examine Sen's ideas around development, freedom and unfreedom, capability deprivation, women's development, population growth, and shared humanity.Sen calls for a broadening of the term 'development' beyond the current narrow focus on economic measures such as per capita GDP and income levels. He argues that there is no direct link between a measure such as a country's GNP growth rate and the real freedoms that its citizens enjoy. For example, countries like South Africa and Brazil have a higher per capita GNP but lower life expectancy when compared to Sri Lanka and China.Though recognizing the importance of economic benchmarks, Sen argues for the need for an expanded definition of development to include real human 'freedoms' such as political freedoms, economic facilities, social opportunities, transparency guarantees and protective security. This human freedom is both the primary end objective and the principle means of development. In tandem, Sen stresses the need to abolish 'unfreedoms' such as poverty, famine, starvation, undernourishment, tyranny, poor economicopportunities, systematic social deprivation, neglect of public facilities, intolerance, and over-activity of repressive states

Norsk Hydro's Utkal venture in Orissa, India

This paper will begin with a brief overview of the Norsk Hydro ASA’s (hereinafter Hydro) Utkal Alumina International (hereinafter Utkal) project in Orissa, India, followed by cultural and ethical analyses and recommendations for next steps. Previous research suggests that corporations desire practitioner insights on this intersection of culture and ethics (Donaldson, 1989, Dubinsky and Loken 1989, Vogel 1992, Robertson and Fadil 1997). Theory will be balanced with press releases and personal interviews with Hydro corporate offices and NGO/watch groups. The case is set in June 2001 when Hydro was still a 45% shareholder. The focus will be limited to Hydro though other joint venture partners are Canadian Alcan and the Indian Aluminum Company, Indal (owned by conglomerate Indian business house Hindalco), with 35% and 20% ownership respectively. Hydro was selected as this multinational corporation (MNC) has begun to engage in rigorous dialogue regarding ethical challenges and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The Utkal project site juxtaposes this ethical rhetoric with the real and continual dilemmas faced since project inception in 1993. In 2001, Indian police killed three villagers and severely injured eight others during a non-violent protest of Utkal activities. Case Overview: With an investment of US $1 billion, the Utkal project will establish a bauxite mine at the Baphlimali plateau and an alumina-refining factory in the Rayagada district of Orissa, East India. The project is expected to supply over thirty years of alumina production for export: 1 million tons in the first phase and 2.5 million tons during the second phase. This will extract an estimated 173 million tons over a thirty-year period. These alumina exports will help to meet the burgeoning international demand (4-5% yearly increase) for this strong, ductile light metal. Utkal implementation is expected to begin in mid-2001, with the first production milestone set for 2005. Meanwhile, the Utkal venture has stirred massive international controversy due to the potential human and environmental consequences. In order to acquire land, 750 people in three villages (Kucheipadar, Korala, and Komphora) will be forced to move from their homes. Approximately five hundred others will lose land and tens of villages will have reduced access to common resources such as water and agricultural and grazing lands. In total, NGOs estimate 60,000 people will be directly or indirectly negatively impacted by the Utkal venture. Most of these local inhabitants are farmers and approximately 60% percent belong to native tribes in the lowest Hindu castes. Within the eastern state of Orissa (where the Utkal venture is located), 44% of the population live below the poverty line, 51% are illiterate, and 47% do not have access to electricity, safe drinking water, and toilets. Overall, India is ranked 129th of 174 countries on the UNDP survey of human development which account for well-being components such as life expectancy, education, and gender equality. This low placement is due in part to limited government spending (just 5.1% of GDP) on health and education. (See Appendix 1 for quality of life data. See Appendices 2 and 3 for macroeconomic details.) Environmental groups are also concerned with the effects to the land. Estimates differ. The watch group, One World, claims that the 1,750 hectares needed for facilities would result in the razing of 100 hills to the ground, and the drying up of 700 streams and numerous forests and grasslands as an area of 130,081 hectares morphs into a "barren desert." Meanwhile, Utkal contends that a far smaller area of land will be raised and only 10% of the Bahra Nadi river (in the driest year) could be used. Utkal planted approximately 80,000 trees in the year 2000. They expect to plant a few million trees in the area. Moreover, the estimated 2 million tones of industrial sludge produced each year will silt up potable water resources and other reservoirs. Utkal contends that there will be no silting of resources, the project will utilise dry stacking with liners and collection pond and water recycling. Norwegian consultants from the Christian Michelsen Institute (CMI) initially approved the environmental assessment. However, CMI’s request for more time to perform a complete analysis of social impacts was denied. Utkal’s sponsors are no strangers to previous environmental catastrophes. The Indian State Pollution Control Board reports that Indal’s Hirakud plant emits .5 million kg of fluorine each year—contaminating shallow ground water and soil. Hydro’s S&S PVC-compound plant in Tamil Nadu, South India, was found to have "two sets" of standards governing health, safety, and the environment. In this case, Norwatch reported the use of cadmium in the production process, the provision of asbestos gloves for workers, and the lack of an adequate waste treatment center. All of these conditions are permissible in India, but outlawed in Norway. Government institutions (with or without proper resource and borrowing privileges) approved the project, and police and local "authorities" have attempted to quell the non-violent village protestors. Increasingly violent measures have been used to force villagers to sign away land against their will at minimal, if any, repayment. Meanwhile, Hydro’s promises to provide jobs, enable open communication, protect and enhance human welfare have generally fallen far short of expectations. Hydro contends that international NGOs have teamed with local organizations to oppose the development on political and ideological grounds