Performance of foundation-owned firms in Germany: The role of foundation purpose, stock market listing, and family involvement

To address succession issues, the owners of family firms increasingly transfer their equity to family and charitable foundations, thereby creating so-called foundation-owned firms. This form of succession has become increasingly common in various European countries. A small yet insightful stream of research has emerged comparing the performance of foundation-owned firms against the performance of nonfoundation-owned firms. Our study goes one step further and accounts for the heterogeneous nature of foundation-owned firms. We investigate the role of foundation purpose (family versus charitable foundation), stock market listing, and family involvement. Our results show that firms owned by a family foundation have better accounting performance than firms owned by a charitable foundation. We further find a performance-enhancing effect of family involvement in the firm's management or supervisory board. Contrary to our expectations, we did not observe significant performance differences between private and stock market-listed foundation-owned firms. Our study advances the emergent stream of the foundation-owned (family) firm literature by integrating research on foundation-owned firms with research on family firms. Furthermore, we contribute to the corporate governance literature on ownership effects and blockholder ownership

Leistungseffekte des Zentralabiturs? Eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit bildungsökonomischen Interpretationen zu den Effekten der Prüfungsorganisation auf der Basis von PISA-E-2003-Daten [Einzelbeitrag]

Bildungsökonomisch ausgerichtete Sekundäranalysen von PISA-Datensätzen kommen zu dem Schluss, dass mit dem Zentralabitur in der BRD ausgeprägte Leistungseffekte einhergehen. Sie sind Ausgangspunkt bildungspolitischer Empfehlungen zur Prüfungsorganisation. Die theoretischen und methodischen Grundlagen solcher Analysen erweisen sich gleichwohl als diskussionswürdig. Im Rahmen eigener Sekundäranalysen der PISA-E-2003-Daten konnten generelle und substanzielle Leistungseffekte des Zentralabiturs nicht repliziert werden. (DIPF/Orig.

Wie zentral sind zentrale Prüfungen? Abschlussprüfungen am Ende der Sekundarstufe II im nationalen und internationalen Vergleich

Das Zentralabitur ist in fast allen Ländern der BRD als Instrument der Standardsicherung eingeführt, gleichwohl wurde es mit teils deutlichen organisatorischen Unterschieden implementiert. Die Verfahren werden dargestellt und kategoriengeleitet verglichen sowie in einen Vergleich von 15 OECD-Mitgliedstaaten mit Zentralprüfungen am Ende der Sekundarstufe II eingeordnet. Diese Referenzperspektive offenbart die Bedeutung des Standardisierungsgrades von Prüfungen gegenüber dem Konzept "Zentralisierung" im Hinblick auf differenzierende Analysen der Steuerungswirkungen dieses Reformelementes auf schulische und unterrichtliche Prozesse. (DIPF/Orig.)In almost all of the German Laender, the centrally standardized "Abitur" (school leaving certificate and university entrance qualification) has been introduced as an instrument of standard maintenance; however, the differences in its implementation are often quite significant. The procedures are described and compared with regard to specific categories and are then, in turn, compared to 15 OECD countries with centrally standardized exit exams at the end of the upper secondary school level. This reference-guided perspective reveals the significance of the degree of standardization of exams as opposed to the concept of "centralization" with regard to differentiating analyses of the effects of control achieved through this reform element on the level of both school-related and teaching-related processes. (DIPF/Orig.

European ornamental garden flora as an invasion debt under climate change

1. Most naturalised and invasive alien plant species were originally introduced to regions for horticultural purposes. However, many regions now face an invasion debt from ornamental alien species, which have not yet naturalised. In this regard, climate change represents a threat as it may lower the barriers to naturalisation for some ornamental alien species. Identifying those species is extremely important for anticipating impending invasions.2. To identify predictors of naturalisation, we modelled the effects of climate, nursery availability and species characteristics on the current European naturalisation success of 2,073 ornamental aliens commonly planted in European gardens. We then used the resulting model together with climate projections for 2050 to forecast future naturalisation risks for the 1,583 species not yet naturalised in Europe.3. We found that non-European naturalised range size, climatic suitability, propagule pressure, having a dioecious sexual system and plant height jointly explained current naturalisation success in Europe. By 2050, naturalisation probability projections increased by more than 0.1 for 41 species, and only decreased by more than 0.1 for one species.4. Policy implications. Using predictions based on our integrated model of alien ornamental naturalisation success, we identified species with high future naturalisation risk and species with high projected increases in naturalisation potential in Europe under climate change. This species list allows for prioritisation of monitoring and regulation of ornamental plants to mitigate the invasion debt.publishe

Functional trait differences and trait plasticity mediate biotic resistance to potential plant invaders

1. Biotic resistance represents an important natural barrier to potential invaders throughout the world, yet the underlying mechanisms that drive such resistance are still debated. In theory, native communities should repel both functionally similar invaders which compete for the same resources, and invaders which possess less competitive traits. However, environmental stress, trade-offs across vital rates and competition-induced plastic trait shifts may modify expected competitive outcomes, thereby influencing invasion dynamics.2. In order to test these theoretical links between trait distributions and biotic resistance, we performed a mesocosm experiment with 25 non-native ornamental species invading native plant communities. Each non-native species was grown with and without the native community under two watering treatments (regular and reduced). We measured biotic resistance as the difference in performance of nonnative individuals grown with and without the community in terms of their survival, growth and reproduction. We quantified overall functional dissimilarity between non-native ornamental individuals and native communities based on the combination of plant height, specific leaf area and seed mass. Then, assuming each of these traits is also potentially linked to competitive ability, we measured the position of non-natives on trait hierarchies. While height is positively correlated with competitive ability for light interception, conservative leaf and seed characteristics provide greater tolerance to competition for other resources. Finally, we quantified plastic trait shifts of non-native individuals induced by competition.3. Indeed, the native community repelled functionally similar individuals by lowering the invader’s survival rate. Simultaneously, shorter ornamental individuals with larger specific leaf areas were less tolerant to biotic resistance from the community across vital rates, although the effect of trait hierarchies often depended on watering conditions. Finally, non-natives responded to competition by shifting their traits. Most importantly, individuals with more competitive traits were able to overcome biotic resistance also through competition-induced plastic trait shifts.4. Synthesis. Our results highlight that both functional dissimilarity and trait hierarchies mediate biotic resistance to ornamental plant invaders. Nevertheless, environmental stress as well as opposing trends across vital rates are also influential. Furthermore, plastic trait shifts can reinforce potential invaders’ competitive superiority, determining a positive feedback.publishe