How Formal and Informal Institutions of Middle Eastern Countries Influence Managerial Discretion: An Empirical Investigation

Managerial discretion is the focal theme bridging the clash between two schools of thoughts; whether executives have greater influence on their firms’ outcomes or other factors restrain their actions (Hambrick & Finkelstein, 1987). It is argued that constraints come from inertial, normative and environmental forces (e.g. DiMaggio & Powell, 1983). Of these restraints is the institutional environment in which a firm is headquartered. Our paper falls within this research stream and provides an extension for Crossland and Hambrick (2007, 2011) work. We investigate the national level of discretion in new cross-cultural contexts, provide deeper understanding of its concept, and shed the light on undiscovered discretion’s antecedents and consequences. We adopt a quantitative approach in which questionnaires represent our data collection instrument. We anticipate that in high discretion countries firms tend to follow what Miles & Snow (1978) labeled ‘Prospector’ strategy as opposed to low discretion countries in which firms incline to implement a ‘Defender’ strategy

Metabolomics Unravel Contrasting Effects of Biodiversity on the Performance of Individual Plant Species

In spite of evidence for positive diversity-productivity relationships increasing plant diversity has highly variable effects on the performance of individual plant species, but the mechanisms behind these differential responses are far from being understood. To gain deeper insights into the physiological responses of individual plant species to increasing plant diversity we performed systematic untargeted metabolite profiling on a number of herbs derived from a grassland biodiversity experiment (Jena Experiment). The Jena Experiment comprises plots of varying species number (1, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 60) and number and composition of functional groups (1 to 4; grasses, legumes, tall herbs, small herbs). In this study the metabolomes of two tall-growing herbs (legume: Medicago x varia; non-legume: Knautia arvensis) and three small-growing herbs (legume: Lotus corniculatus; non-legumes: Bellis perennis, Leontodon autumnalis) in plant communities of increasing diversity were analyzed. For metabolite profiling we combined gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC-TOF-MS) and UPLC coupled to FT-ICR-MS (LC-FT-MS) analyses from the same sample. This resulted in several thousands of detected m/z-features. ANOVA and multivariate statistical analysis revealed 139 significantly changed metabolites (30 by GC-TOF-MS and 109 by LC-FT-MS). The small-statured plants L. autumnalis, B. perennis and L. corniculatus showed metabolic response signatures to increasing plant diversity and species richness in contrast to tall-statured plants. Key-metabolites indicated C- and N-limitation for the non-leguminous small-statured species B. perennis and L. autumnalis, while the metabolic signature of the small-statured legume L. corniculatus indicated facilitation by other legumes. Thus, metabolomic analysis provided evidence for negative effects of resource competition on the investigated small-statured herbs that might mechanistically explain their decreasing performance with increasing plant diversity. In contrast, taller species often becoming dominant in mixed plant communities did not show modified metabolite profiles in response to altered resource availability with increasing plant diversity. Taken together, our study demonstrates that metabolite profiling is a strong diagnostic tool to assess individual metabolic phenotypes in response to plant diversity and ecophysiological adjustment

Combining theories of regulation - proposing a framework for analysing regulatory systems worldwide

Two main theories of regulation have been considered in the literature, namely regulatory intervention and regulatory governance. The paper draws on research in EU telecommunications to combine these previously independent theories and to propose a framework for the analysis of regulatory systems worldwide. The combination adds to present knowledge by embedding regulation into state hierarchy and market environment, which allows for a better understanding as to why regulatory output differs across countries and sectors. The proposed framework has the potential of predictive powers and suggests a ‘best practice’ regulatory system. Depending on the classification of the regulatory systems obtained from the application of the framework, best practice is predicted in the form of competitiveness of the regulated sector under consideration

Harmony or Disharmony in the Regulation of the Promotion of Competition in EU Telecommunications? A Survey of Regulatory Offices

As part of the movement towards harmonised trading relationships in Europe, the European Commission (EC) has introduced a series of policy reforms aimed at opening up European utility markets to competition. This paper is concerned with investigating the degree to which harmonisation is occurring in telecommunications policy. The study is based on a questionnaire sent to the regulator of telecommunications in each member state. Of the 15 member states, 13 regulatory offices agreed to participate in the study and completed the questionnaire. Also, they answered questions of clarification carried out by telephone, email and letter. The study identifies certain differences in the attitudes and policies adopted towards regulation of telecoms across the EU and in the promotion of competition

Value & Predictability within the RBV of the Firm: A critical review of the resource-based and related literature

The article revisits the tautology argument in the RBV. We find that the tautology issue can be resolved when adopting a labour theory of value. The review also finds that, when adopting and integrating a labour theory of value, the RBV's fundamental puzzle of predicting competitive advantage can be resolved. The article closes re-evaluating the current understanding of the RBV's status and by proposing new directions for research

Of Value, Tautologies and Disconnects: A Temporal Approach to Revitalizing Resource-Based Theory

Theoretical disconnects within RBT prevent the systematic quantification of the theory's core proposition. To address these disconnects requires temporal reasoning, of value creation as a sequential process from resource acquisition, via deployment, to firm product. To address an unacknowledged tautology that prevents addressing the disconnects, important refinements and extensions to the current understanding of economic value are integrated into the RBT's core proposition. The resulting understanding provides the basis for consistently conceptualizing and quantifying intangible as well as tangible resources. New meanings of the concepts of superior resource endowment and deployment are revealed. Research implications include the ability to quantify competitive advantage using balance sheet information and data panels; a novel understanding of the link between RBT and the dynamic capabilities approach to management; the ability to remove an assumption that has left the RBT exposed to persistent criticism; as well as guidance for future research in the field

Economic performance in European telecommunications, 1978-1998: a comparative study

The European telecommunications sector is undergoing major structural change in the face of new technology, privatisation and European Commission directives requiring market liberalisation. This study considers the comparative performance of the major European telecommunications operators between 1978 and 1998. This period encompasses an era of state monopolies, market liberalisation initiatives and a number of privatisations. The objectives are to assess: the extent so far to which market liberalisation and privatisation have impacted on the efficiency with which telecommunications services are provided in Europe; and changes in the performance of the different telecommunications operators over time with a view to providing an insight into the comparative efficiency performance of the different telecommunications operators in Europe. Performance is measured in terms of profit margins and labour and total factor productivity

Methods and trends of performance benchmarking in UK utility regulation

Regulation is subject to information asymmetries that can lead to allocative and productive inefficiencies. One solution, suggested by Shleifer in 1985 and now adopted by many regulatory bodies round the world, is ‘benchmarking’, which is sometimes called ‘yardstick competition’. In this paper we consider Shleifer's original approach to benchmarking and contrast this with the actual use of benchmarking by UK regulatory bodies in telecommunications, water and the energy sector since the privatizations of the 1980s and early 1990s. We find that benchmarking plays only one part and sometimes a small part in the setting of regulatory price caps in the UK. We also find that in practice benchmarking has been subject to a number of difficulties, which mean that it is never likely to be more than one tool in the regulator's armoury. The UK's experience provides lessons for regulation internationally