Spotlight on new research publications in December
12/01/2020
Photo: Bjarke MacCarthy
Are you a journalist, researcher or simply interested in academic articles on business and culture?
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The following is a rough list. If you need more information, please contact the researcher.
The academic articles have been peer-reviewed, which means they have been judged by other researchers within the same area.
THE FOLLOWING IS THIS MONTH’S PEER-REVIEWED RESEARCH – ENJOY YOUR READING:
Find the abstracts under each heading...
‘Thriving Instead of Surviving’: A Capability Approach to Geographical Career Transitions in the Creative Industries.
Abstract: This article examines career transitions in creative industries that involve geographical relocation from large metropolitan creative cities to small, remote and marginal urbanities. Drawing on 31 in-depth interviews with freelancers who have relocated to peripheral Southern European locales, the article explores the ways in which creative workers make sense of and justify their career transitions away from the metropolis, while reassessing reflexively over their lifespan the shifting meaning of their career success. We propose the adoption of Nussbaum’s capability approach in the study of such career transitions as a means of strengthening current theorizing about the role played by urban contexts in individual conceptualizations of career success and meaningful professional identities. Applying this analytical lens, we tease out the ways in which our informants perceived the influence exerted by different urban contexts on their capacity to enact a set of capabilities for the attainment of well-being and quality of life at different stages in their careers while striving to preserve a stable professional identity as creative workers. We argue that a good life evaluation, which includes a reflexive and comprehensive reassessment of the capabilities to live life well while pursuing a creative career, underlies creative workers’ shifting interpretations of geographical career transition that contravene conventional measures of career upward mobility, development and growth.
Abstract: This article examines career transitions in creative industries that involve geographical relocation from large metropolitan creative cities to small, remote and marginal urbanities. Drawing on 31 in-depth interviews with freelancers who have relocated to peripheral Southern European locales, the article explores the ways in which creative workers make sense of and justify their career transitions away from the metropolis, while reassessing reflexively over their lifespan the shifting meaning of their career success. We propose the adoption of Nussbaum’s capability approach in the study of such career transitions as a means of strengthening current theorizing about the role played by urban contexts in individual conceptualizations of career success and meaningful professional identities. Applying this analytical lens, we tease out the ways in which our informants perceived the influence exerted by different urban contexts on their capacity to enact a set of capabilities for the attainment of well-being and quality of life at different stages in their careers while striving to preserve a stable professional identity as creative workers. We argue that a good life evaluation, which includes a reflexive and comprehensive reassessment of the capabilities to live life well while pursuing a creative career, underlies creative workers’ shifting interpretations of geographical career transition that contravene conventional measures of career upward mobility, development and growth.
Journal:Human Relations
Published: September 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Ana Alacovska
Social Accounting in the Context of Profound Political, Social and Economic Crisis: The Case of the Arab Spring
Abstract: Purpose: This paper explores how social accounting operates in the context of profound political, social and economic crises. Specifically, it examines how companies constructed strategies of action to produce and organise social accounting practices under different sociopolitical and economic contexts prior to and after the Arab Spring.
Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on Swidler's theory of “Culture Toolkit” and 43 semi-structured interviews with 17 firms and their stakeholders in the Arab region.
Findings: The study argues that context influences social accounting practices by shaping a cultural toolkit of habits, skills and styles from which companies develop their social accounting related strategies of action. During “settled” periods, companies draw on resources to develop their social accounting practices whilst they seek knowledge and feedback on boundaries and expectations of the socio-political and economic contexts. During “unsettled” periods, companies begin to adopt highly organised meaning systems (i.e. ideologies) from which new ways and methods of social accounting practices are deployed.
Originality/value: The paper contributes to the extant literature by providing insights into social accounting practices in the under-explored context of the profound political, social and economic crises that followed the Arab Spring. In addition, we introduce Swidler's Culture Toolkit theory to the accounting literature.
Abstract: Purpose: This paper explores how social accounting operates in the context of profound political, social and economic crises. Specifically, it examines how companies constructed strategies of action to produce and organise social accounting practices under different sociopolitical and economic contexts prior to and after the Arab Spring.
Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on Swidler's theory of “Culture Toolkit” and 43 semi-structured interviews with 17 firms and their stakeholders in the Arab region.
Findings: The study argues that context influences social accounting practices by shaping a cultural toolkit of habits, skills and styles from which companies develop their social accounting related strategies of action. During “settled” periods, companies draw on resources to develop their social accounting practices whilst they seek knowledge and feedback on boundaries and expectations of the socio-political and economic contexts. During “unsettled” periods, companies begin to adopt highly organised meaning systems (i.e. ideologies) from which new ways and methods of social accounting practices are deployed.
Originality/value: The paper contributes to the extant literature by providing insights into social accounting practices in the under-explored context of the profound political, social and economic crises that followed the Arab Spring. In addition, we introduce Swidler's Culture Toolkit theory to the accounting literature.
Journal: Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal
Published: November 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Muhammad Al Mahameed
Erhvervslivet og domstolene
Abstract: Forfatteren redegørfor Justitias analyse om erhvervslivets adgang til domstolene i forhold til domstolenes udmåling afsagsomkostninger og sagsbehandlingstiden i civile sager og konkluderer, at Justitia har peget på to væsentlige udfordringer for domstolene, da det er retssikkerhedsmæssigt betænkeligt med de gældende forhold. Det anbefales i lighed med Justitia, at der for civile retssager indføres en regel om sagsomkostninger svarende til de regler, der gælder i svensk og norsk ret, hvorefter sagsomkostninger som udgangspunkt dækkes fuldt ud, at der indføres en regel om, at sagsbehandlingstiden som udgangspunkt ikke må overstige 8-10 måneder og en regel, hvorefter retten er hovedansvarlig for at sagen fremmes med den fornødne hurtighed.
Abstract: Forfatteren redegørfor Justitias analyse om erhvervslivets adgang til domstolene i forhold til domstolenes udmåling afsagsomkostninger og sagsbehandlingstiden i civile sager og konkluderer, at Justitia har peget på to væsentlige udfordringer for domstolene, da det er retssikkerhedsmæssigt betænkeligt med de gældende forhold. Det anbefales i lighed med Justitia, at der for civile retssager indføres en regel om sagsomkostninger svarende til de regler, der gælder i svensk og norsk ret, hvorefter sagsomkostninger som udgangspunkt dækkes fuldt ud, at der indføres en regel om, at sagsbehandlingstiden som udgangspunkt ikke må overstige 8-10 måneder og en regel, hvorefter retten er hovedansvarlig for at sagen fremmes med den fornødne hurtighed.
Journal: Erhvervsjuridisk Tidsskrift
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Peter Arnt Nielsen
Waiting for the Payday? The Market for Startups and the Timing of Entrepreneurial Exit
Abstract: Most technology startups are set up for exit through acquisition by large corporations. In choosing when to sell, startups face a trade-off. Early acquisition reduces execution errors, but later acquisition both improves the likelihood of finding a better match and benefits from increased buyer competition. Startups’ exit strategies vary considerably: Some startups aim to sell early; others remain in stealth mode by developing the invention for a late sale. We develop an analytical model to study the timing of the exit strategy. We find that startups with more capable founding teams commit to a late exit, whereas those with less capable founding teams commit to an early exit. Finally, startups with founding teams of intermediate capabilities remain flexible: They seek early offers but eventually sell late. If trying the early market is so costly that startups have to make a mutually exclusive choice between an early and late sale, startups sell inefficiently late. Instead, if they can collect early offers at no cost before deciding on the timing of sale, there are too many early acquisitions.
Abstract: Most technology startups are set up for exit through acquisition by large corporations. In choosing when to sell, startups face a trade-off. Early acquisition reduces execution errors, but later acquisition both improves the likelihood of finding a better match and benefits from increased buyer competition. Startups’ exit strategies vary considerably: Some startups aim to sell early; others remain in stealth mode by developing the invention for a late sale. We develop an analytical model to study the timing of the exit strategy. We find that startups with more capable founding teams commit to a late exit, whereas those with less capable founding teams commit to an early exit. Finally, startups with founding teams of intermediate capabilities remain flexible: They seek early offers but eventually sell late. If trying the early market is so costly that startups have to make a mutually exclusive choice between an early and late sale, startups sell inefficiently late. Instead, if they can collect early offers at no cost before deciding on the timing of sale, there are too many early acquisitions.
Journal: Management Science
Published: September 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Thomas Rønde
Economizing and Strategizing: How Coalitions and Transaction Costs Shape Value Creation and Appropriation.
Abstract: Research summary: Research has examined how “economizing” and “strategizing” mechanisms interact in driving competitive outcomes, but the role of coalitions in this process has received little attention. Coalitions are formed to create more value (i.e., economizing) and to strengthen competitive positions (i.e., strategizing). Based on a formal coalitional model, we derive several unintuitive results. We show that economizing actions may backfire because creating more value may lead other players to strategize more aggressively, offsetting the additional value creation. Moreover, creating countervailing power—that is, building a coalition against players with significant power such as monopolists—not only allows the coalition to appropriate more value, but may also benefit the powerful trading partner by reducing competition among the coalition members. Coalition-formation can hurt coalitions members by reducing economizing investments. Managerial summary: Managers typically seek competitive advantage either by improving efficiency (by having unique resources, lowering costs, or improving managerial practices) or by trying to obtain stronger bargaining positions against their buyers or suppliers. We show that these two approaches interact in surprising ways. For example, efficiency improvements create more opportunity for profit, but also give trading partners stronger incentives to bargain for a share of that profit. At the same time, small buyers or sellers can band together into clubs or cooperatives to get better deals from a powerful trading partner, thereby restraining competition among themselves. However, large firms can try to prevent such coalitions from forming by pursuing vertical integration of potential coalition members. We explore a variety of bargaining situations and show that the ability to encourage or thwart coalition formation is an important managerial tool.
Abstract: Research summary: Research has examined how “economizing” and “strategizing” mechanisms interact in driving competitive outcomes, but the role of coalitions in this process has received little attention. Coalitions are formed to create more value (i.e., economizing) and to strengthen competitive positions (i.e., strategizing). Based on a formal coalitional model, we derive several unintuitive results. We show that economizing actions may backfire because creating more value may lead other players to strategize more aggressively, offsetting the additional value creation. Moreover, creating countervailing power—that is, building a coalition against players with significant power such as monopolists—not only allows the coalition to appropriate more value, but may also benefit the powerful trading partner by reducing competition among the coalition members. Coalition-formation can hurt coalitions members by reducing economizing investments. Managerial summary: Managers typically seek competitive advantage either by improving efficiency (by having unique resources, lowering costs, or improving managerial practices) or by trying to obtain stronger bargaining positions against their buyers or suppliers. We show that these two approaches interact in surprising ways. For example, efficiency improvements create more opportunity for profit, but also give trading partners stronger incentives to bargain for a share of that profit. At the same time, small buyers or sellers can band together into clubs or cooperatives to get better deals from a powerful trading partner, thereby restraining competition among themselves. However, large firms can try to prevent such coalitions from forming by pursuing vertical integration of potential coalition members. We explore a variety of bargaining situations and show that the ability to encourage or thwart coalition formation is an important managerial tool.
Journal: Strategic Management Journal
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Christian G. Asmussen, Kirsten Foss, Nicolai J. Foss
The Janus Faces of Silicon Valley
Abstract: In recent years, the power of large technology corporations has become a focus of public debate in both developed and developing countries. This growing chorus brings together complaints about breaches of privacy and data protection, competition and market consolidation, and electoral and other political interference. The most powerful of these companies have grown into behemoths by establishing themselves both as purveyors of their own products, and as the hosts of “platforms” that circumscribe, and profit from, the activities of other organizations. This platform function gives these companies substantial power over their commercial rivals, who depend upon these platforms to operate. More fundamentally, this article argues, the dual function of these “platform companies” allows them to straddle the very categories that we use to organize our understanding of the political and economic world. They are at once product companies, service companies and infrastructure companies; players in the market and markets of the marketplace; private platforms and public spheres. The straddling of these categories places these companies in the institutional cracks of the regulatory system. Moreover, companies consciously exploit this regulatory straddling to thwart challenges to their power. This article argues that such deliberate shape-shifting has allowed these companies to control the political and economic stage on which their own power must be contested, and compromised the ability of scholars, the public and ultimately states to see clearly, and therefore constrain, that power.
Abstract: In recent years, the power of large technology corporations has become a focus of public debate in both developed and developing countries. This growing chorus brings together complaints about breaches of privacy and data protection, competition and market consolidation, and electoral and other political interference. The most powerful of these companies have grown into behemoths by establishing themselves both as purveyors of their own products, and as the hosts of “platforms” that circumscribe, and profit from, the activities of other organizations. This platform function gives these companies substantial power over their commercial rivals, who depend upon these platforms to operate. More fundamentally, this article argues, the dual function of these “platform companies” allows them to straddle the very categories that we use to organize our understanding of the political and economic world. They are at once product companies, service companies and infrastructure companies; players in the market and markets of the marketplace; private platforms and public spheres. The straddling of these categories places these companies in the institutional cracks of the regulatory system. Moreover, companies consciously exploit this regulatory straddling to thwart challenges to their power. This article argues that such deliberate shape-shifting has allowed these companies to control the political and economic stage on which their own power must be contested, and compromised the ability of scholars, the public and ultimately states to see clearly, and therefore constrain, that power.
Journal: Review of International Political Economy
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Maha Rafi Atal
Disclosure Regulation and Competitive Interactions: Evidence from the Oil and Gas Industry
Abstract: We study the effects of mandatory disclosure on competitive interactions in the setting of oil & gas (O&G) reserve disclosures by North American public firms. We document that reserve disclosures inform competitors: when one firm announces larger increases in O&G reserves, competitors experience lower announcement returns and higher real investments. To sharpen identification, we analyze several sources of cross-sectional variation in these patterns, the degree of competition and the sign and the source of reserves changes. We also exploit two plausibly exogenous shocks: the tightening of the O&G reserve disclosure rules and the introduction of fracking technology. Additional tests more directly focused on the presence of proprietary costs confirm that the mandated reserve disclosures result in a relative loss of competitive edge for announcing firms. Our collective evidence highlights important trade-offs in the market-wide effects of disclosure regulation.
Abstract: We study the effects of mandatory disclosure on competitive interactions in the setting of oil & gas (O&G) reserve disclosures by North American public firms. We document that reserve disclosures inform competitors: when one firm announces larger increases in O&G reserves, competitors experience lower announcement returns and higher real investments. To sharpen identification, we analyze several sources of cross-sectional variation in these patterns, the degree of competition and the sign and the source of reserves changes. We also exploit two plausibly exogenous shocks: the tightening of the O&G reserve disclosure rules and the introduction of fracking technology. Additional tests more directly focused on the presence of proprietary costs confirm that the mandated reserve disclosures result in a relative loss of competitive edge for announcing firms. Our collective evidence highlights important trade-offs in the market-wide effects of disclosure regulation.
Journal: The Accounting Review
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Bjørn N. Jørgensen
Face-to-Face Communication in Organisations
Abstract: Communication is integral to organisations and yet field evidence on the relation between communication and worker productivity remains scarce. We argue that a core role of communication is to transmit information that helps co-workers do their job better. We build a simple model in which workers choose the amount of communication by trading off this benefit against the time cost incurred by the sender, and use it to derive a set of empirical predictions. We then exploit a natural experiment in an organisation where problems arrive and must be sequentially dealt with by two workers. For exogenous reasons, the first worker can sometimes communicate face-to-face with their colleague. Consistently with the predictions of our model we find that: (a) the second worker works faster (at the cost of the first worker having less time to deal with incoming problems) when face-to-face communication is possible,(b) this effect is stronger when the second worker is busier and for homogenous and closely-located teams, and (c) the (career) incentives of workers determine how much they communicate with their colleagues. We also find that workers partially internalise social outcomes in their communication decisions. Our findings illustrate how workers in teams adjust the amount of mutual communication to its costs and benefits.
Abstract: Communication is integral to organisations and yet field evidence on the relation between communication and worker productivity remains scarce. We argue that a core role of communication is to transmit information that helps co-workers do their job better. We build a simple model in which workers choose the amount of communication by trading off this benefit against the time cost incurred by the sender, and use it to derive a set of empirical predictions. We then exploit a natural experiment in an organisation where problems arrive and must be sequentially dealt with by two workers. For exogenous reasons, the first worker can sometimes communicate face-to-face with their colleague. Consistently with the predictions of our model we find that: (a) the second worker works faster (at the cost of the first worker having less time to deal with incoming problems) when face-to-face communication is possible,(b) this effect is stronger when the second worker is busier and for homogenous and closely-located teams, and (c) the (career) incentives of workers determine how much they communicate with their colleagues. We also find that workers partially internalise social outcomes in their communication decisions. Our findings illustrate how workers in teams adjust the amount of mutual communication to its costs and benefits.
Journal: The Review of Economic Studies
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Tom Kirchmaier
Women’s Descriptive Representation and Gendered Import Tax Discrimination
Abstract: We identify a form of gender-based governmental discrimination that directly affects billions of women on a daily basis: the setting of import tariffs for gendered goods. These tax rates, which can differ across otherwise identical gender-specific products, often impose direct penalties on women as consumers. Comparing nearly 200,000 paired tariff rates on men’s and women’s apparel products in 167 countries between 1995 and 2015, we find that women suffer a tax penalty that varies systematically across countries. We demonstrate that in democracies, women’s presence in the legislature is associated with decreased import tax penalties on women’s goods. This finding is buttressed by a comparison of democracies and non-democracies and analyses of the implementation of legislative gender quotas. Our work highlights a previously unacknowledged government policy that penalizes women and also provides powerful evidence that descriptive representation can have a substantial, direct impact on discriminatory policies.
Abstract: We identify a form of gender-based governmental discrimination that directly affects billions of women on a daily basis: the setting of import tariffs for gendered goods. These tax rates, which can differ across otherwise identical gender-specific products, often impose direct penalties on women as consumers. Comparing nearly 200,000 paired tariff rates on men’s and women’s apparel products in 167 countries between 1995 and 2015, we find that women suffer a tax penalty that varies systematically across countries. We demonstrate that in democracies, women’s presence in the legislature is associated with decreased import tax penalties on women’s goods. This finding is buttressed by a comparison of democracies and non-democracies and analyses of the implementation of legislative gender quotas. Our work highlights a previously unacknowledged government policy that penalizes women and also provides powerful evidence that descriptive representation can have a substantial, direct impact on discriminatory policies.
Journal: American Political Science Review
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: David Fortunato
The Ins and Outs of Involuntary Part-time Employment
Abstract: We develop and implement a protocol to measure U.S. monthly time series of involuntary part-time employment stocks and flows from 1976 until today. Armed with these new data, we provide a comprehensive account of the cyclical dynamics of involuntary part-time work. We find that the recessionary increase in involuntary part-time employment is consistently driven by a jump in the transition probability from other employment states to involuntary part-time employment, and a drop in the reverse transition probability. We compare the dynamics of unemployment and involuntary part-time employment to argue that they reflect the operation of distinct labor-adjustment channels. While unemployment dynamics are driven by movements in job creation and destruction, the dynamics of involuntary part-time employment reflect changes in employers’ labor utilization.
Abstract: We develop and implement a protocol to measure U.S. monthly time series of involuntary part-time employment stocks and flows from 1976 until today. Armed with these new data, we provide a comprehensive account of the cyclical dynamics of involuntary part-time work. We find that the recessionary increase in involuntary part-time employment is consistently driven by a jump in the transition probability from other employment states to involuntary part-time employment, and a drop in the reverse transition probability. We compare the dynamics of unemployment and involuntary part-time employment to argue that they reflect the operation of distinct labor-adjustment channels. While unemployment dynamics are driven by movements in job creation and destruction, the dynamics of involuntary part-time employment reflect changes in employers’ labor utilization.
Journal: Labour Economics
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Daniel Borowczyk-Martins
Recursive Recognition in the International Political Economy
Abstract: How are the tools that govern the world economy legitimated? Here we discuss how governance tools - such as policy scripts, templates, and benchmarks - are developed to contain particular types of knowledge. Such tools contain blueprints of how the world economy should work. Understanding how they are produced and legitimated is important if we are to comprehend how they replicate particular bodies of knowledge, policy languages, and norms. We suggest that ‘recursive recognition’ is an important trend in the international political economy, where different types of organizations legitimate particular governance tools; especially ones producing common metrics. For example: a private foundation releases a study on best practices in policy area X, which is then referred to as best practice by an intergovernmental organization, an NGO, a firm, and a global professional service firm. Investigating the extent of this phenomenon requires addressing two blind spots. The first blind spot is conceptual in the reification of agency and authority based on organizational types. The second blind spot is empirical in identifying how pervasive recursive recognition has become, and how it affirms the reproduction of power asymmetries.
Abstract: How are the tools that govern the world economy legitimated? Here we discuss how governance tools - such as policy scripts, templates, and benchmarks - are developed to contain particular types of knowledge. Such tools contain blueprints of how the world economy should work. Understanding how they are produced and legitimated is important if we are to comprehend how they replicate particular bodies of knowledge, policy languages, and norms. We suggest that ‘recursive recognition’ is an important trend in the international political economy, where different types of organizations legitimate particular governance tools; especially ones producing common metrics. For example: a private foundation releases a study on best practices in policy area X, which is then referred to as best practice by an intergovernmental organization, an NGO, a firm, and a global professional service firm. Investigating the extent of this phenomenon requires addressing two blind spots. The first blind spot is conceptual in the reification of agency and authority based on organizational types. The second blind spot is empirical in identifying how pervasive recursive recognition has become, and how it affirms the reproduction of power asymmetries.
Journal: Review of International Political Economy
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Leonard Seabrooke
Organising Spirit
Abstract: The article reports on a philosophical inquiry of the social organisation of spirit in the village Bywater. The main conceptual claim is that the case shows us spirit as a recursive common. Spirit is both an effect of and a condition for social organisation. We contribute to rethinking the relation between resource and practice in commons and in alternative organisation. Methodologically, the inquiry is grounded in a cultural mapping of the cultural in/tangibles producing the spirit of the community. We read these cultural in/tangibles through a philosophical lens and re-enter them as elements of spirit. We conclude that spirit/commoning acts as organising of, for, and with community needs while remaining undecidably explicit and implicit, formal and informal. By conceptualising spirit as resource and commons, this paper contributes to the study of alternative organisation.
Abstract: The article reports on a philosophical inquiry of the social organisation of spirit in the village Bywater. The main conceptual claim is that the case shows us spirit as a recursive common. Spirit is both an effect of and a condition for social organisation. We contribute to rethinking the relation between resource and practice in commons and in alternative organisation. Methodologically, the inquiry is grounded in a cultural mapping of the cultural in/tangibles producing the spirit of the community. We read these cultural in/tangibles through a philosophical lens and re-enter them as elements of spirit. We conclude that spirit/commoning acts as organising of, for, and with community needs while remaining undecidably explicit and implicit, formal and informal. By conceptualising spirit as resource and commons, this paper contributes to the study of alternative organisation.
Journal: Culture and Organization
Published: September 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Thomas Burø, Oleg Koefoed
Three Dimensions of Institutional Contention: Efficiency, Equality and Governance in Danish Vocational Education and Training Reform
Abstract: This article develops a new analytical framework to account for institutional change in vocational education and training (VET) systems. Trajectories of institutional change are typically explained using one of two perspectives on institutional contention. First, the Varieties of Capitalism-approach highlights positive efficiency effects from coordination between companies on skill formation. Second, a historical institutionalist approach focuses on positive political feedback effects from the governance of VET institutions. We propose adding a third dimension of institutional contention related to what role VET should play in fostering greater socio-economic equality. Employing this three-dimensional framework enables a more fine-grained analysis of gradual forms of institutional change and greater appreciation of the ways in which political struggles over the configuration of the three dimensions drive institutional reform. The argument is supported by analyzing the trajectory of institutional change in the Danish VET system in the post-war period.
Abstract: This article develops a new analytical framework to account for institutional change in vocational education and training (VET) systems. Trajectories of institutional change are typically explained using one of two perspectives on institutional contention. First, the Varieties of Capitalism-approach highlights positive efficiency effects from coordination between companies on skill formation. Second, a historical institutionalist approach focuses on positive political feedback effects from the governance of VET institutions. We propose adding a third dimension of institutional contention related to what role VET should play in fostering greater socio-economic equality. Employing this three-dimensional framework enables a more fine-grained analysis of gradual forms of institutional change and greater appreciation of the ways in which political struggles over the configuration of the three dimensions drive institutional reform. The argument is supported by analyzing the trajectory of institutional change in the Danish VET system in the post-war period.
Journal: Socio-Economic Review
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Martin B. Carstensen
20 years of Nordic Place Branding Research: A Review and Future Research Agenda
Abstract: In the past 20 years, the Nordic region has fostered a distinct place branding scholarship and practice. This paper briefly revisits hallmark contributions that founded and shaped Nordic place branding and argues that by today, the Nordic approach earned widespread international acknowledgement. The Nordic region offers more than a regional context of place branding; its cultural and geo-political idiosyncrasies greatly affect the axiological position of place branding research. By positioning Nordic place branding research on the global scene, the paper outlines the contours of a hybrid scholarly approach (the Nordic wave), which bridges across managerial and critical schools of branding and promotes a more extroverted knowledge collaboration with branding practitioners. The paper concludes with discussing the potential the NordicWave for future place branding endeavours.
Abstract: In the past 20 years, the Nordic region has fostered a distinct place branding scholarship and practice. This paper briefly revisits hallmark contributions that founded and shaped Nordic place branding and argues that by today, the Nordic approach earned widespread international acknowledgement. The Nordic region offers more than a regional context of place branding; its cultural and geo-political idiosyncrasies greatly affect the axiological position of place branding research. By positioning Nordic place branding research on the global scene, the paper outlines the contours of a hybrid scholarly approach (the Nordic wave), which bridges across managerial and critical schools of branding and promotes a more extroverted knowledge collaboration with branding practitioners. The paper concludes with discussing the potential the NordicWave for future place branding endeavours.
Journal: Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Szilvia Gyimothy
Two Sides of the Same Coin? Decentralized versus Proprietary Blockchains and the Performance of Digital Currencies
Abstract: There is a shared view among practitioners that the blockchain is a revolutionary, decentralized technology that will have a larger impact than the Internet. Firms are increasingly using blockchains for various applications; the most prominent of which to date are digital currencies. In this article, we aim to increase our theoretical understanding of the driving forces behind the success and volatility of digital currencies. We use a detailed dataset of 345 digital currencies for our explorative analysis and identify some of the key factors that can explain their performance. We find that the success and volatility of digital currencies depend on their business type (i.e., whether they relate to a platform business or not) and on their technology type (i.e., whether they are based on their own specialized blockchain technology or on a third-party standardized platform blockchain). Our findings suggest that, paradoxically, to obtain the promised benefits of this decentralized technology, firms need to centralize part of it to retain control over critical strategic dimensions (data and rules for transaction). We discuss the implications of our discovery for other contexts undergoing digital transformation.
Abstract: There is a shared view among practitioners that the blockchain is a revolutionary, decentralized technology that will have a larger impact than the Internet. Firms are increasingly using blockchains for various applications; the most prominent of which to date are digital currencies. In this article, we aim to increase our theoretical understanding of the driving forces behind the success and volatility of digital currencies. We use a detailed dataset of 345 digital currencies for our explorative analysis and identify some of the key factors that can explain their performance. We find that the success and volatility of digital currencies depend on their business type (i.e., whether they relate to a platform business or not) and on their technology type (i.e., whether they are based on their own specialized blockchain technology or on a third-party standardized platform blockchain). Our findings suggest that, paradoxically, to obtain the promised benefits of this decentralized technology, firms need to centralize part of it to retain control over critical strategic dimensions (data and rules for transaction). We discuss the implications of our discovery for other contexts undergoing digital transformation.
Journal: Academy of Management Discoveries
Published: September 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Carmelo Cennamo
Capital Flows under Global Uncertainties: Evidence from Turkey
Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of global economic uncertainty and trade policy–related uncertainty in the US in predicting the bond and equity flows to Turkey during the period from January 2008 to November 2019. We use the time-varying Granger-causality test to assess the ability of economic policy uncertainty and capital flows to forecast Turkish equity and bond markets using fund-level data on bond and equity inflows compiled by the Emerging Portfolio Fund Research (EPFR) global database. Although we found no evidence of causality in the standard Granger-causality test, the time-varying robust causality test detects significant episodes that imply a causal relationship between capital flows and uncertainty indexes, especially during the global financial crisis and the election of the Trump administration.
Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of global economic uncertainty and trade policy–related uncertainty in the US in predicting the bond and equity flows to Turkey during the period from January 2008 to November 2019. We use the time-varying Granger-causality test to assess the ability of economic policy uncertainty and capital flows to forecast Turkish equity and bond markets using fund-level data on bond and equity inflows compiled by the Emerging Portfolio Fund Research (EPFR) global database. Although we found no evidence of causality in the standard Granger-causality test, the time-varying robust causality test detects significant episodes that imply a causal relationship between capital flows and uncertainty indexes, especially during the global financial crisis and the election of the Trump administration.
Journal: Borsa Istanbul Review
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Oğuzhan Cepni
Fælleshed som bynaturens sted: Metodologiske tilgange til familiært engagement i bygrønne fællesskaber.
Abstract: This article presents three methodological approaches to the study of urban nature as a location for what we call »commonality«, an idea which is based on the concept »familiar engagement« from the pragmatic sociology of Laurant Thevenot. Whereas the concept of familiar engagement itself bears resemblance to »place attachment« as used in, for example, psychology and geography, our broader theoretical approach has the advantage of coupling individual engagement with the concept of social coordination in the form of commonality. Thus, the approach draws analytical attention to the potential interplay between familiar engagements and other forms of engagement in the city's green places, namely functional engagements in plans and public engagements in justification. The analytical question, approached from three methodological angles, is what types of relationships exist between familiar engagement and commonality (plan, justification). The methodological pluralism of the paper results in a general claim about relationship between familiar, functional and justifiable engagement in urban nature, and that future research should take into account the many possible compositions of place-attachments, and not reduce these to one simple phenomena.
Abstract: This article presents three methodological approaches to the study of urban nature as a location for what we call »commonality«, an idea which is based on the concept »familiar engagement« from the pragmatic sociology of Laurant Thevenot. Whereas the concept of familiar engagement itself bears resemblance to »place attachment« as used in, for example, psychology and geography, our broader theoretical approach has the advantage of coupling individual engagement with the concept of social coordination in the form of commonality. Thus, the approach draws analytical attention to the potential interplay between familiar engagements and other forms of engagement in the city's green places, namely functional engagements in plans and public engagements in justification. The analytical question, approached from three methodological angles, is what types of relationships exist between familiar engagement and commonality (plan, justification). The methodological pluralism of the paper results in a general claim about relationship between familiar, functional and justifiable engagement in urban nature, and that future research should take into account the many possible compositions of place-attachments, and not reduce these to one simple phenomena.
Journal: Dansk Sociologi
Published: 2019
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Contact CBS researcher: Jakob Laage-Thomsen
Professional Action in Global Wealth Chains
Abstract: This article provides a framework for explaining professional action in multi-jurisdictional tax and finance environments, focusing on how relationships between clients, professionals, and regulators shape market structures. Given the complexity of tax and financial regulations within and across national systems, professionals experienced in accounting, financial, legal, and policy systems have opportunities to engage to increase information asymmetries rather than lower them. This article draws on the recent literature on Global Wealth Chains to theorize how professionals develop action profiles to exploit opportunity structures through information gaps. We develop a theoretical framework for understanding how professionals may intentionally, and as a matter of strategy, exploit information gaps in different socio-economic contexts. We provide case vignettes of client-professional-regulator relationships in multi-jurisdictional tax and finance management, highlighting how professional action shapes wealth chains and attempts at regulatory intervention. Our theoretical contribution is to link micro-level interactions to macro-level structures of wealth creation and protection in the transnational economic and legal order.
Abstract: This article provides a framework for explaining professional action in multi-jurisdictional tax and finance environments, focusing on how relationships between clients, professionals, and regulators shape market structures. Given the complexity of tax and financial regulations within and across national systems, professionals experienced in accounting, financial, legal, and policy systems have opportunities to engage to increase information asymmetries rather than lower them. This article draws on the recent literature on Global Wealth Chains to theorize how professionals develop action profiles to exploit opportunity structures through information gaps. We develop a theoretical framework for understanding how professionals may intentionally, and as a matter of strategy, exploit information gaps in different socio-economic contexts. We provide case vignettes of client-professional-regulator relationships in multi-jurisdictional tax and finance management, highlighting how professional action shapes wealth chains and attempts at regulatory intervention. Our theoretical contribution is to link micro-level interactions to macro-level structures of wealth creation and protection in the transnational economic and legal order.
Journal: Regulation & Governance
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Rasmus Corlin Christensen, Leonard Seabrooke, Duncan Wigan
Hyphenated Voices: The Organization of Racialized Subjects in Contemporary Danish Public Debate
Abstract: Applying aconceptual framework of hyphenation, understood as the organization ofracialized subjects, this paper investigates rhetorical strategies for workingexisting hyphens as practiced within an Action Aid Denmark initiative to trainyoung people to become public opinion leaders in anti-discrimination matters.We identify three such rhetorical strategies: (1) Silencing: Racializedsubjects are organized by majority voices that speak of/for ‘the Other’; thetraining explicitly seeks to change the organization of public debate byworking this hyphen. (2) Positioning: The main strategy for working the hyphen,as taught in the course, is to speak from a minority position, but in a mannerthat is recognizable to the majority. Thus, non-white participants are trainedto speak with white voice; they become exceptions to the rule, tokens or rolemodels when telling their stories in a scripted manner. And (3) Representing:In telling their own stories, the aspiring opinion leaders come to speak forracialized subjects as a group. Thus, the course (unwittingly) reproduces thecurrent racialized organization of public space in the form of ‘benigndiscrimination’. On the basis of this analysis, the article advancespostcolonial organization studies by demonstrating that hyphenation cannot beovercome, but must be engaged in a continuous process of re-working the hyphen.Thus, the task of researchers and practitioners alike is to show theconstraints of current hyphenations and find strategies for organizing subjectsin more equal and open relations.
Abstract: Applying aconceptual framework of hyphenation, understood as the organization ofracialized subjects, this paper investigates rhetorical strategies for workingexisting hyphens as practiced within an Action Aid Denmark initiative to trainyoung people to become public opinion leaders in anti-discrimination matters.We identify three such rhetorical strategies: (1) Silencing: Racializedsubjects are organized by majority voices that speak of/for ‘the Other’; thetraining explicitly seeks to change the organization of public debate byworking this hyphen. (2) Positioning: The main strategy for working the hyphen,as taught in the course, is to speak from a minority position, but in a mannerthat is recognizable to the majority. Thus, non-white participants are trainedto speak with white voice; they become exceptions to the rule, tokens or rolemodels when telling their stories in a scripted manner. And (3) Representing:In telling their own stories, the aspiring opinion leaders come to speak forracialized subjects as a group. Thus, the course (unwittingly) reproduces thecurrent racialized organization of public space in the form of ‘benigndiscrimination’. On the basis of this analysis, the article advancespostcolonial organization studies by demonstrating that hyphenation cannot beovercome, but must be engaged in a continuous process of re-working the hyphen.Thus, the task of researchers and practitioners alike is to show theconstraints of current hyphenations and find strategies for organizing subjectsin more equal and open relations.
Journal: Organization
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Jannick Friis Christensen, Sine N. Just, Sara Louise Muhr
Learning from the Ambiguous Past with Project Reviews.
Abstract: Purpose: Knowledge is supposedly a good ally of the future. Postproject reviews aim to create knowledge and improvements based on the past, but what happens when those observations are ambiguous? Based on intriguing observations on developing structured postproject reviews, implications of the ambiguities of the past are analyzed and discussed.
Design/methodology/approach: The present research departed from an interactive clinical action research approach (Schein, 1987), employing several rounds of interaction over 11 months. The studied company had a clear objective to improve its project evaluations and learn from three past projects to improve future ones by developing a framework to facilitate project evaluation.
Findings: Despite top management support and a benevolent organizational climate, the development process encountered problems. The list of issues to consider grew ever more extensive, and the expected data refinement and accompanying insights did not happen. Participants debated what to observe, and there was uncertainty about how to link the elements and confusion and disagreement about what was learned.
Research limitations/implications: Learning from past projects was more problematic and difficult than predicted based on the postproject review literature. The past did purvey multiple interpretations.
Practical implications: Learning from the past is not effective if the goal is generating causal knowledge, scoring forms and checklists for future use. Postproject reviews provide an opportunity to decide what the past should be about rather than identifying what it was about.
Originality/value: The past might appear stable, but, when examined, ambiguity emerges. Research on knowledge generation from postproject reviews assumes that a project’s past is more or less stable and agreed upon. However, this study addresses the critical role of ambiguity about the past and the challenges when organizations try to learn from history through project reviews and evaluation processes.
Abstract: Purpose: Knowledge is supposedly a good ally of the future. Postproject reviews aim to create knowledge and improvements based on the past, but what happens when those observations are ambiguous? Based on intriguing observations on developing structured postproject reviews, implications of the ambiguities of the past are analyzed and discussed.
Design/methodology/approach: The present research departed from an interactive clinical action research approach (Schein, 1987), employing several rounds of interaction over 11 months. The studied company had a clear objective to improve its project evaluations and learn from three past projects to improve future ones by developing a framework to facilitate project evaluation.
Findings: Despite top management support and a benevolent organizational climate, the development process encountered problems. The list of issues to consider grew ever more extensive, and the expected data refinement and accompanying insights did not happen. Participants debated what to observe, and there was uncertainty about how to link the elements and confusion and disagreement about what was learned.
Research limitations/implications: Learning from past projects was more problematic and difficult than predicted based on the postproject review literature. The past did purvey multiple interpretations.
Practical implications: Learning from the past is not effective if the goal is generating causal knowledge, scoring forms and checklists for future use. Postproject reviews provide an opportunity to decide what the past should be about rather than identifying what it was about.
Originality/value: The past might appear stable, but, when examined, ambiguity emerges. Research on knowledge generation from postproject reviews assumes that a project’s past is more or less stable and agreed upon. However, this study addresses the critical role of ambiguity about the past and the challenges when organizations try to learn from history through project reviews and evaluation processes.
Journal: International Journal of Managing Projects in Business
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: John K. Christiansen, Jan Mouritsen
Redistribution in a Political Union: The Case of the EU
Abstract: A key function of centralized budgets in federal and political unions is to act as an equalizing mechanism to support economic and social cohesion. This is also the case with the European Union's (EU) budget, which operates as a redistributive mechanism that counteracts the cross‐national and cross‐regional inequalities created by the single market. Despite the limits on cross‐national redistribution imposed by a centrifugal system of representation, the net fiscal position of member states – what they pay to the EU budget minus what they receive from it – is very diverse and has changed quite remarkably over the last decades. In this paper, we investigate how and why the net fiscal position of each member state toward the rest of the EU changes over time. We develop a novel panel dataset (1979–2014) to study how key national and EU‐level political and economic variables affect the EU redistributive dynamics. We find that redistribution via the EU budget primarily targets developments in inequality within EU member states, and that an increase in domestic unemployment may also improve the country's fiscal balance. Moreover, we find that voting power in the Council is unrelated to a more positive fiscal balance. However, we find that governments with a centre‐right profile are in general more successful in improving their redistributive position vis‐à‐vis the other member states. This may create a problem of budgetary ‘rent extraction’.
Abstract: A key function of centralized budgets in federal and political unions is to act as an equalizing mechanism to support economic and social cohesion. This is also the case with the European Union's (EU) budget, which operates as a redistributive mechanism that counteracts the cross‐national and cross‐regional inequalities created by the single market. Despite the limits on cross‐national redistribution imposed by a centrifugal system of representation, the net fiscal position of member states – what they pay to the EU budget minus what they receive from it – is very diverse and has changed quite remarkably over the last decades. In this paper, we investigate how and why the net fiscal position of each member state toward the rest of the EU changes over time. We develop a novel panel dataset (1979–2014) to study how key national and EU‐level political and economic variables affect the EU redistributive dynamics. We find that redistribution via the EU budget primarily targets developments in inequality within EU member states, and that an increase in domestic unemployment may also improve the country's fiscal balance. Moreover, we find that voting power in the Council is unrelated to a more positive fiscal balance. However, we find that governments with a centre‐right profile are in general more successful in improving their redistributive position vis‐à‐vis the other member states. This may create a problem of budgetary ‘rent extraction’.
Journal: European Journal of Political Research
Published: April 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Manuele Citi, Mogens K. Justesen
Leadership in Interaction: An Introduction to the Special Issue.
Abstract: Pending
Abstract: Pending
Journal: Leadership
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Magnus Larsson
Designing Coopetition for Radical Innovation: An Experimental Study of Managers' Preferences for Developing Self-driving Electric Cars.
Abstract: The major premise of this study is that managers purposefully shape the business context for radical innovation. Particularly, the strategic option of developing radical innovation in collaboration with direct competitors offers opportunities otherwise unattainable. We tap into its cognitive underpinnings by running an experimental study of coopetition design for radical innovation. We have collected 5760 binary decisions from a sample of 160 managers. Their indications are used to run a choice-based conjoint analysis in order to identify utilities attributed to coopetition-shaping decisions in a radical innovation project (using a scenario of self-driving/electric cars produced by VW, Daimler or Tesla). We use Hierarchical Bayes Multinomial Logit Regression to test a set of four hypotheses, each addressing a different coopetition factor to unveil manager's preferences in coopetition design for radical innovation. Our findings pinpoint a clear preference for network coopetition, using formal governance, and being based on intensive knowledge sharing. Contrary to prior literature, market uncertainty does not appear to significantly influence coopetition design for radical innovation.
Abstract: The major premise of this study is that managers purposefully shape the business context for radical innovation. Particularly, the strategic option of developing radical innovation in collaboration with direct competitors offers opportunities otherwise unattainable. We tap into its cognitive underpinnings by running an experimental study of coopetition design for radical innovation. We have collected 5760 binary decisions from a sample of 160 managers. Their indications are used to run a choice-based conjoint analysis in order to identify utilities attributed to coopetition-shaping decisions in a radical innovation project (using a scenario of self-driving/electric cars produced by VW, Daimler or Tesla). We use Hierarchical Bayes Multinomial Logit Regression to test a set of four hypotheses, each addressing a different coopetition factor to unveil manager's preferences in coopetition design for radical innovation. Our findings pinpoint a clear preference for network coopetition, using formal governance, and being based on intensive knowledge sharing. Contrary to prior literature, market uncertainty does not appear to significantly influence coopetition design for radical innovation.
Journal: Technological Forecasting and Social Change
Published: June 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Sascha Kraus
How Young Companies Can Effectively Manage Their Slack Resources over Time to Ensure Sales Growth: The Contingent Role of Value-based Selling
Abstract: This research aims to bridge the entrepreneurship and marketing/sales literature streams by studying how young firms enable their resource endowments using value-based selling. Drawing on effectuation logic, the authors examine how young firms can achieve sales growth by using human and financial resource slack during the early years of their existence and accounting for the impact of the variability of these resources over time. The integrated framework and hypotheses are tested using unique, multisource (survey and objective archival) longitudinal panel data from 71 young firms covering a seven-year period. As anticipated, the findings show that both financial and human resource slack are negatively related to young firms’ sales growth over time and that financial resource slack variability exerts a positive impact and human resource slack variability exerts a (nonsignificant) negative impact. The results also confirm the importance of value-based selling as a guiding mechanism that significantly alters the effects of both types of resource slack and their variability over time. While value-based selling can help a young firm use slack to grow more effectively, it also has a dark side in that it can stand in the way of risk taking.
Abstract: This research aims to bridge the entrepreneurship and marketing/sales literature streams by studying how young firms enable their resource endowments using value-based selling. Drawing on effectuation logic, the authors examine how young firms can achieve sales growth by using human and financial resource slack during the early years of their existence and accounting for the impact of the variability of these resources over time. The integrated framework and hypotheses are tested using unique, multisource (survey and objective archival) longitudinal panel data from 71 young firms covering a seven-year period. As anticipated, the findings show that both financial and human resource slack are negatively related to young firms’ sales growth over time and that financial resource slack variability exerts a positive impact and human resource slack variability exerts a (nonsignificant) negative impact. The results also confirm the importance of value-based selling as a guiding mechanism that significantly alters the effects of both types of resource slack and their variability over time. While value-based selling can help a young firm use slack to grow more effectively, it also has a dark side in that it can stand in the way of risk taking.
Journal: Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
Published: November 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Ad de Jong
Flexibility in Marketing & Sales Interfacing Processes.
Abstract: Preliminary insights in the marketing literature indicate that flexibility is important in marketing and sales processes and interaction. However, to date, marketing and sales management literature lacks an understanding of what flexibility in marketing-sales interfaces looks like, its potential organizational consequences, and potential boundary conditions. Using data from interviews with marketing and sales managers, this study explores the nature, outcomes and facilitators of flexibility at the marketing-sales interface. This study conceptualizes marketing-sales interface flexibility (MSIF) as a process of flexible cross-functional resource exchange and finds that MSIF has positive organizational outcomes (both in terms of performance and relationship quality), that MSIF is essential for firms when dealing with exigencies in turbulent environments, and that the utility of MSIF is conditioned by the speed with which MSIF is implemented. The research contribution is twofold. At a theoretical level, the study defines the construct for the first time, revealing MSIF's conceptual composition for examination, and develops theory regarding MSIF's direct relationships with key business outcomes, as well as likely contingencies that shape its importance. At a practical level, the study's framework offers a tool that managers can use to help build organizational success through enhanced flexibility in their marketing-sales interfaces.
Abstract: Preliminary insights in the marketing literature indicate that flexibility is important in marketing and sales processes and interaction. However, to date, marketing and sales management literature lacks an understanding of what flexibility in marketing-sales interfaces looks like, its potential organizational consequences, and potential boundary conditions. Using data from interviews with marketing and sales managers, this study explores the nature, outcomes and facilitators of flexibility at the marketing-sales interface. This study conceptualizes marketing-sales interface flexibility (MSIF) as a process of flexible cross-functional resource exchange and finds that MSIF has positive organizational outcomes (both in terms of performance and relationship quality), that MSIF is essential for firms when dealing with exigencies in turbulent environments, and that the utility of MSIF is conditioned by the speed with which MSIF is implemented. The research contribution is twofold. At a theoretical level, the study defines the construct for the first time, revealing MSIF's conceptual composition for examination, and develops theory regarding MSIF's direct relationships with key business outcomes, as well as likely contingencies that shape its importance. At a practical level, the study's framework offers a tool that managers can use to help build organizational success through enhanced flexibility in their marketing-sales interfaces.
Journal: Industrial Marketing Management
Published: November 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Selma Kadic-Maglajlic
The Bureaucratic Vocation: State/Office/Ethics
Abstract: This paper seeks to indicate how and why public bureaucracy has been and remains a cornerstone of the modern state and of representative democratic governmental regimes. It does so by highlighting both the constitutive role bureaucratic practices and ethics play in securing civil peace and security, and individual and collective rights and freedoms, for example, and how attempts to transcend, negate, or otherwise 'disappear' bureaucracy can have profound political consequences. The paper begins with a brief exploration of some of the tropes of 'bureau-critique' and their historical and contemporary association with key elements of anti-statist thought. It then proceeds, in section two, to chart how attempts to detach an understanding of bureaucracy from its imbrication in critical polemic and political partisanship can be best pursued by revisiting the work of Max Weber. Weber's great achievement, it will be argued, was to provide a definitive analysis of both the 'technical' and ethico-cultural attributes of public bureaucracy without falling into pejorative critique. In so doing, Weber's work provides a useful resource for exploring the limits and pitfalls of 'bureau-critique' historically and contemporaneously. The problems identified with politically partisan and critique- oriented understandings of public bureaucracy identified in the first two sections of the paper are then illustrated in section three with direct reference to specific episodes in German, US, and British political history. The paper concludes by re-emphasising the enduring significance and political positivity of the ethos of bureaucratic office-holding, not least in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Abstract: This paper seeks to indicate how and why public bureaucracy has been and remains a cornerstone of the modern state and of representative democratic governmental regimes. It does so by highlighting both the constitutive role bureaucratic practices and ethics play in securing civil peace and security, and individual and collective rights and freedoms, for example, and how attempts to transcend, negate, or otherwise 'disappear' bureaucracy can have profound political consequences. The paper begins with a brief exploration of some of the tropes of 'bureau-critique' and their historical and contemporary association with key elements of anti-statist thought. It then proceeds, in section two, to chart how attempts to detach an understanding of bureaucracy from its imbrication in critical polemic and political partisanship can be best pursued by revisiting the work of Max Weber. Weber's great achievement, it will be argued, was to provide a definitive analysis of both the 'technical' and ethico-cultural attributes of public bureaucracy without falling into pejorative critique. In so doing, Weber's work provides a useful resource for exploring the limits and pitfalls of 'bureau-critique' historically and contemporaneously. The problems identified with politically partisan and critique- oriented understandings of public bureaucracy identified in the first two sections of the paper are then illustrated in section three with direct reference to specific episodes in German, US, and British political history. The paper concludes by re-emphasising the enduring significance and political positivity of the ethos of bureaucratic office-holding, not least in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Journal: New Formations
Published: June 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Paul du Gay
Active Loan Trading
Abstract: Using a novel dataset of leveraged loan trades executed by managers of collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), we document the importance of “active loan trades” – trades executed at a manager’s discretion. More active trading increases the returns to CLO equity investors, lowers collateral portfolio default rates, and increases the manager’s chances of closing a new deal. Examining the observed loan trades, we find that more active CLOs trade at better prices than less active CLOs, selling leveraged loans earlier and before they get downgraded. Our findings suggest that more active CLOs are better at anticipating deteriorations in loan credit quality.
Abstract: Using a novel dataset of leveraged loan trades executed by managers of collateralized loan obligations (CLOs), we document the importance of “active loan trades” – trades executed at a manager’s discretion. More active trading increases the returns to CLO equity investors, lowers collateral portfolio default rates, and increases the manager’s chances of closing a new deal. Examining the observed loan trades, we find that more active CLOs trade at better prices than less active CLOs, selling leveraged loans earlier and before they get downgraded. Our findings suggest that more active CLOs are better at anticipating deteriorations in loan credit quality.
Journal: Journal of Financial Intermediation
Published: May 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Mads Stenbo Nielsen
Variation in Organizational Practices: Are Startups Really Different?
Abstract: The idea that new ventures are simple mimetic reflections of the organizational practices of existing organizations contradicts the recognized importance of organizational diversity for innovation. There is an inherent contradiction in the literature between the persistence implied by the inheritance of practices from prior employment, and the experimentation prevalent in the organizational practices contributed by new organizations. This paper first accounts for mechanisms that may drive heritage of practices from parent organizations to their spawns. It then sets out to explore mechanisms that may cause a lower degree of diversity in applied practices among established organizations, and lastly, the conditions that may cause a greater degree of diversity among practice combinations of startups. The reviewed mechanisms suggest that the distribution of organizational and strategic practices among established organizations and startups to be somewhat dissimilar, and that startups significantly contribute to the variation in organizational practices. Using a sample set of Danish organizations, we find evidence of greater diversity in organizational practices among newer organizations, while established organizations are more likely to converge on a set of similar practices. Our results further indicate that strategic disagreements between the entrepreneur and their prior employer are associated with greater differences in strategic orientation. A distinction between strategic and HRM practices provides additional insights.
Abstract: The idea that new ventures are simple mimetic reflections of the organizational practices of existing organizations contradicts the recognized importance of organizational diversity for innovation. There is an inherent contradiction in the literature between the persistence implied by the inheritance of practices from prior employment, and the experimentation prevalent in the organizational practices contributed by new organizations. This paper first accounts for mechanisms that may drive heritage of practices from parent organizations to their spawns. It then sets out to explore mechanisms that may cause a lower degree of diversity in applied practices among established organizations, and lastly, the conditions that may cause a greater degree of diversity among practice combinations of startups. The reviewed mechanisms suggest that the distribution of organizational and strategic practices among established organizations and startups to be somewhat dissimilar, and that startups significantly contribute to the variation in organizational practices. Using a sample set of Danish organizations, we find evidence of greater diversity in organizational practices among newer organizations, while established organizations are more likely to converge on a set of similar practices. Our results further indicate that strategic disagreements between the entrepreneur and their prior employer are associated with greater differences in strategic orientation. A distinction between strategic and HRM practices provides additional insights.
Journal: Journal of Evolutionary Economics
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Toke Reichstein
Attributing Policy Influence under Coalition Governance
Abstract: Coalition governance divides policy-making influence across multiple parties, making it challenging for voters to accurately attribute responsibility for outcomes. We argue that many voters overcome this challenge by inferring parties’ policy-making influence using a simple heuristic model that integrates a number of readily available and cheaply obtained informational cues about parties (e.g., their roles in government and legislative seat shares)—while ignoring other cues that, while predictive of real-world influence, are not suitable for heuristic inference (e.g., median party status and bargaining power). Using original data from seven surveys in five countries, we show that voters’ attributions of parties’ policy-making influence are consistent with our proposed inferential strategy. Our findings suggest that while voters certainly have blind spots that cause them to misattribute policy responsibility in some situations, their attributions are generally sensible and consistent with the academic research on multiparty policy making.
Abstract: Coalition governance divides policy-making influence across multiple parties, making it challenging for voters to accurately attribute responsibility for outcomes. We argue that many voters overcome this challenge by inferring parties’ policy-making influence using a simple heuristic model that integrates a number of readily available and cheaply obtained informational cues about parties (e.g., their roles in government and legislative seat shares)—while ignoring other cues that, while predictive of real-world influence, are not suitable for heuristic inference (e.g., median party status and bargaining power). Using original data from seven surveys in five countries, we show that voters’ attributions of parties’ policy-making influence are consistent with our proposed inferential strategy. Our findings suggest that while voters certainly have blind spots that cause them to misattribute policy responsibility in some situations, their attributions are generally sensible and consistent with the academic research on multiparty policy making.
Journal: American Political Science Review
Published: September 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: David Fortunato
Blended Ambidexterity: The Copresence of Modes of Ambidexterity in William Demand Holding.
Abstract: Research identifies different modes of ambidexterity (sequential, contextual and structural ambidexterity) that, however, are implicitly seen as mutually exclusive. Accordingly, the copresence of structural and contextual ambidexterity modes—here called “blended ambidexterity”—has been given little attention, although it may be characteristic of (some) companies and may be a deliberate choice. To establish that blended ambidexterity is an empirically meaningful phenomenon and to gain insight into its causes, organizational context and consequences, we undertook a detailed study of two business units in William Demant Holding, a leading company in the medical devices industry. Our findings suggest that blended ambidexterity 1) is a meaningful empirical phenomenon; which 2) can manifest in different ways (i.e., characteristic elements of contextual and structural ambidexterity may be configured in different ways); 3) is supported by formal and informal organization; 4) is associated with different innovation outcomes, depending on how it is configured; 5) may have distinct advantages in terms of overcoming limitations of each mode; but 6) also gives rise to distinct management challenges.
Abstract: Research identifies different modes of ambidexterity (sequential, contextual and structural ambidexterity) that, however, are implicitly seen as mutually exclusive. Accordingly, the copresence of structural and contextual ambidexterity modes—here called “blended ambidexterity”—has been given little attention, although it may be characteristic of (some) companies and may be a deliberate choice. To establish that blended ambidexterity is an empirically meaningful phenomenon and to gain insight into its causes, organizational context and consequences, we undertook a detailed study of two business units in William Demant Holding, a leading company in the medical devices industry. Our findings suggest that blended ambidexterity 1) is a meaningful empirical phenomenon; which 2) can manifest in different ways (i.e., characteristic elements of contextual and structural ambidexterity may be configured in different ways); 3) is supported by formal and informal organization; 4) is associated with different innovation outcomes, depending on how it is configured; 5) may have distinct advantages in terms of overcoming limitations of each mode; but 6) also gives rise to distinct management challenges.
Journal: Long Range Planning
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Nicolai J. Foss
Preservation of Incentives Inside the Firm: A Case Study of a Quasi-market for Cost-based Transfer Pricing
Abstract: According to organizational economists, the implementation of market-like control mechanisms, such as transfer prices, can never completely replicate the market since “the use of high-powered incentives in firms is inherently subject to corruption” (Williamson 1985, 140). This paper illustrates that this is not necessarily always so. By means of a case study, this paper illustrates that many problems that extant research claims are related to cost-based transfer prices were mitigated through an organizational design that created a quasi-market inside the firm. The paper contributes to extant research in several ways. First, it illustrates that strong incentives are somewhat preserved through an organizational design that fosters competition between product divisions. Second, the paper shows how the specific problems related to a standard variable cost transfer price were mitigated. Finally, the paper highlights the limits of the quasi-market and describes a number of problems that required central intervention.
Abstract: According to organizational economists, the implementation of market-like control mechanisms, such as transfer prices, can never completely replicate the market since “the use of high-powered incentives in firms is inherently subject to corruption” (Williamson 1985, 140). This paper illustrates that this is not necessarily always so. By means of a case study, this paper illustrates that many problems that extant research claims are related to cost-based transfer prices were mitigated through an organizational design that created a quasi-market inside the firm. The paper contributes to extant research in several ways. First, it illustrates that strong incentives are somewhat preserved through an organizational design that fosters competition between product divisions. Second, the paper shows how the specific problems related to a standard variable cost transfer price were mitigated. Finally, the paper highlights the limits of the quasi-market and describes a number of problems that required central intervention.
Journal: Journal of Management Accounting Research
Published: September 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Ivar Friis
Business or Basic Needs? The Impact of Loan Purpose on Social Crowdfunding Platforms.
Abstract: Crowdfunding has created new opportunities for poor microentrepreneurs. One crucial question is the impact that the purpose of a loan—either business investment or basic necessities—may have on the success of a campaign. Investigating a prosocial crowdfunding platform, we find that loans taken out to meet basic needs are funded faster than business-related loans, especially for small amounts, which can be explained by the prosocial motivation of microlenders. Moreover, female microborrowers are funded faster than men, especially for basic needs loans. Our results therefore suggest an ethical blind spot, since prosocially motivated crowdlenders may unintentionally end up producing adverse effects, replicating gender role by supporting women to a lesser extent when they apply for business loans. This finding expands prosocial motivational theory in ethical finance.
Abstract: Crowdfunding has created new opportunities for poor microentrepreneurs. One crucial question is the impact that the purpose of a loan—either business investment or basic necessities—may have on the success of a campaign. Investigating a prosocial crowdfunding platform, we find that loans taken out to meet basic needs are funded faster than business-related loans, especially for small amounts, which can be explained by the prosocial motivation of microlenders. Moreover, female microborrowers are funded faster than men, especially for basic needs loans. Our results therefore suggest an ethical blind spot, since prosocially motivated crowdlenders may unintentionally end up producing adverse effects, replicating gender role by supporting women to a lesser extent when they apply for business loans. This finding expands prosocial motivational theory in ethical finance.
Journal: Journal of Business Ethics
Published: May 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Hadar Gafni
Toward a Novel Theory of Rational Managerial Deliberation: Stakeholders, Ethical Values, and Corporate Governance
Abstract: How should managers deliberate, and how do we teach them to do so? How one evaluates managerial decision making will partly depend on what conception of the corporate function one endorses. Agency Theory and its accompanying shareholder conception of the corporate function has long dominated management. Voices in management learning have called for a change, but we argue that such change has been hampered by the lack of a theory of managerial deliberation, which is compatible with the alternative stakeholder conception of the corporate function. Here, we develop a novel theory of managerial deliberation: one that is suited to stakeholder theory. We argue that if genuine ethical deliberation is to become prevalent within management, then we must conceive of managerial deliberation as a creative, yet rational, learning process, while we assure that this process is adequately constrained to allow for managerial accountability. By taking inspiration from modern philosophical theories of deliberation, we provide such a theory of rational managerial deliberation.
Abstract: How should managers deliberate, and how do we teach them to do so? How one evaluates managerial decision making will partly depend on what conception of the corporate function one endorses. Agency Theory and its accompanying shareholder conception of the corporate function has long dominated management. Voices in management learning have called for a change, but we argue that such change has been hampered by the lack of a theory of managerial deliberation, which is compatible with the alternative stakeholder conception of the corporate function. Here, we develop a novel theory of managerial deliberation: one that is suited to stakeholder theory. We argue that if genuine ethical deliberation is to become prevalent within management, then we must conceive of managerial deliberation as a creative, yet rational, learning process, while we assure that this process is adequately constrained to allow for managerial accountability. By taking inspiration from modern philosophical theories of deliberation, we provide such a theory of rational managerial deliberation.
Journal: Academy of Management Learning and Education
Published: September 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Rasmus Johnsen
The Motivating Role of Truth in Reasoning: A Defence of Object-dependent Fregean Senses.
Abstract: Intuitively, when all goes well, we adopt beliefs based on inference because we realize that their truth is established by the truth of the involved premises. If this intuitive picture of our successful reasoning is correct, then it must be possible that our reasoning is motivated by our sensitivity to the soundness of the involved inference. This paper argues that such a view of ideal reasoning can only be upheld if we accept the minority view that the proper inferential role of our thoughts is individuated in terms of object dependent Fregean senses. I consider respectively Millian, Guise–Fregean, and object dependent Fregean views, and show how only the latter view provides a picture of our theoretical reasoning where sensitivity to soundness can be what motivates a subject’s reasoning.
Abstract: Intuitively, when all goes well, we adopt beliefs based on inference because we realize that their truth is established by the truth of the involved premises. If this intuitive picture of our successful reasoning is correct, then it must be possible that our reasoning is motivated by our sensitivity to the soundness of the involved inference. This paper argues that such a view of ideal reasoning can only be upheld if we accept the minority view that the proper inferential role of our thoughts is individuated in terms of object dependent Fregean senses. I consider respectively Millian, Guise–Fregean, and object dependent Fregean views, and show how only the latter view provides a picture of our theoretical reasoning where sensitivity to soundness can be what motivates a subject’s reasoning.
Journal: Erkenntnis: An International Journal of Scientific Philosophy
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Johan Gersel
Bank Credit Supply and Firm Innovation Behavior in the Financial Crisis
Abstract: We analyze the change in firms’ innovation behavior (short-term adjustment and long-term strategy) in reaction to the credit supply shock to banks in the recent financial crisis 2008/2009. Using a matched bank-firm data set for Germany, we utilize the exogenous variation caused by the interbank market disruptions on credit supply in instrumental variable estimations. Concerning the short-term innovation adjustment in 2009, our results show that (i) current innovation activities, (ii) the initiation of additional innovation and (iii) the reallocation of unused labor resources to the innovation department are affected by the shock to bank financing. We find that the effect is more pronounced for product innovation than for process innovation. Investigating the impact on the long-term innovation strategy in reaction to the crisis, we find that (iv) the sensitivity to adopting any innovation-related strategy to cope with the crisis could not be attributed to the negative bank credit supply shock.
Abstract: We analyze the change in firms’ innovation behavior (short-term adjustment and long-term strategy) in reaction to the credit supply shock to banks in the recent financial crisis 2008/2009. Using a matched bank-firm data set for Germany, we utilize the exogenous variation caused by the interbank market disruptions on credit supply in instrumental variable estimations. Concerning the short-term innovation adjustment in 2009, our results show that (i) current innovation activities, (ii) the initiation of additional innovation and (iii) the reallocation of unused labor resources to the innovation department are affected by the shock to bank financing. We find that the effect is more pronounced for product innovation than for process innovation. Investigating the impact on the long-term innovation strategy in reaction to the crisis, we find that (iv) the sensitivity to adopting any innovation-related strategy to cope with the crisis could not be attributed to the negative bank credit supply shock.
Journal: Journal of Banking & Finance
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Marek Giebel
Transforming Corporate Social Responsibilities: Toward an Intellectual Activist Research Agenda for Micro-CSR Research
Abstract: In their recent essay, Gond and Moser (2019) have proposed that micro-CSR research has the potential to “matter” and transform business practices as it engages closely with how individuals in companies work with and experience corporate social responsibility (CSR). But can micro-CSR research in its current form realize this transformative potential and serve social justice? Adopting an intellectual activist position, we argue that the transformative potential of micro-CSR is severely limited by its predominant focus on CSR as defined, presented, and promoted by companies themselves, thereby serving to sustain the hegemony of the business case for CSR, promoting narrow interests and maintaining managerial control over corporate responsibilities. We propose that micro-CSR researchers broaden the scope of their research to cultivate the potential of alternative ideas, voices, and activities found in organizational life. In so doing we lay out a research agenda that embraces employee activism, listens to alternative voices, and unfolds confrontational, subversive, and covert activities. In the hope of inspiring other micro-CSR researchers to explore these unconventional paths, we also offer suggestions as to how we can pursue them through empirical research.
Abstract: In their recent essay, Gond and Moser (2019) have proposed that micro-CSR research has the potential to “matter” and transform business practices as it engages closely with how individuals in companies work with and experience corporate social responsibility (CSR). But can micro-CSR research in its current form realize this transformative potential and serve social justice? Adopting an intellectual activist position, we argue that the transformative potential of micro-CSR is severely limited by its predominant focus on CSR as defined, presented, and promoted by companies themselves, thereby serving to sustain the hegemony of the business case for CSR, promoting narrow interests and maintaining managerial control over corporate responsibilities. We propose that micro-CSR researchers broaden the scope of their research to cultivate the potential of alternative ideas, voices, and activities found in organizational life. In so doing we lay out a research agenda that embraces employee activism, listens to alternative voices, and unfolds confrontational, subversive, and covert activities. In the hope of inspiring other micro-CSR researchers to explore these unconventional paths, we also offer suggestions as to how we can pursue them through empirical research.
Journal: Human Relations
Published: November 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Verena Girschik
Unpacking Nordic Administrative Reforms: Agile and Adaptive Governments.
Abstract: This article examines current reform experiences in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, focusing on the assumed Nordic administrative model. The research questions is: How do Nordic public sector executives perceive reform processes, trends, contents and management instruments? To answer these questions we apply a theory of gradual institutional change. The database is a survey of top civil servants in ministries and central agencies in 19 European countries conducted in 2012–2015 within the COCOPS project funded by the EC 7th Framework Program. We show that the Nordic countries are pragmatic and motivated reformers. There is a high level of reform activity and public involvement. The reforms aim to improve services more than cut costs. The Nordic model emerges as one that is agile and adaptive. New reform elements have been incorporated into the existing welfare state model, which accounts for differences between the five countries.
Abstract: This article examines current reform experiences in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, focusing on the assumed Nordic administrative model. The research questions is: How do Nordic public sector executives perceive reform processes, trends, contents and management instruments? To answer these questions we apply a theory of gradual institutional change. The database is a survey of top civil servants in ministries and central agencies in 19 European countries conducted in 2012–2015 within the COCOPS project funded by the EC 7th Framework Program. We show that the Nordic countries are pragmatic and motivated reformers. There is a high level of reform activity and public involvement. The reforms aim to improve services more than cut costs. The Nordic model emerges as one that is agile and adaptive. New reform elements have been incorporated into the existing welfare state model, which accounts for differences between the five countries.
Journal: International Journal of Public Administration
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Carsten Greve
From Catching Up to Industrial Leadership: Towards an Integrated Market-technology Perspective. An Application of Semantic Patent-to-Patent Similarity in the Wind and EV Sector
Abstract: Studies on catching up and industrial leadership have often used market-related variables to evaluate the catch-up trajectories of latecomer countries and firms. In this study, we aim to enhance our understanding of these concepts by presenting an integrated market-technology framework. Using natural language processing techniques allows us to go beyond patent numbers and analyze patent novelty and impact as well as technological changes over time. In empirical case studies on wind energy and electric vehicles in China, Japan, and South Korea, we compare and identify country and sector-specific catch-up trajectories and potential catch-up traps.
Abstract: Studies on catching up and industrial leadership have often used market-related variables to evaluate the catch-up trajectories of latecomer countries and firms. In this study, we aim to enhance our understanding of these concepts by presenting an integrated market-technology framework. Using natural language processing techniques allows us to go beyond patent numbers and analyze patent novelty and impact as well as technological changes over time. In empirical case studies on wind energy and electric vehicles in China, Japan, and South Korea, we compare and identify country and sector-specific catch-up trajectories and potential catch-up traps.
Journal: Industrial and Corporate Change
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Lars Oehler
Understanding Influences on Consumers’ Dietary Stress in Healthy Food Buying
Abstract: Purpose: This study aims to investigate relationships among body mass index (BMI), socioeconomic variables, dietary self-efficacy and consumer dietary stress in healthy food buying and explore whether different levels of personal values influence these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on an online representative cross-sectional study with 380 food consumers. Structural equation modeling served to estimate direct, mediating and moderating effects between the studied constructs and variables.
Findings: Examples of moderating and moderated mediating effects include a negative impact of BMI on dietary stress for consumers with low levels of enjoyment value but no significant effect for consumers with high levels of enjoyment. BMI also had a greater negative impact on dietary self-efficacy when the level of respect/achievement was high (vs low), and respect/achievement positively moderated the mediating effect of BMI on dietary stress through dietary self-efficacy.
Research limitations/implications: This study focuses on analyzing healthy food buying in a particular cultural setting and may suffer from a lack of generalizability to other cultures. The results suggest that research should take into account personal values when investigating stress.
Practical implications: Food managers and health authorities can improve their ability to reduce dietary stress when addressing consumers by understanding the role of personal values in healthy food choice and the impact on mental well-being.
Originality/value: This study offers a novel, more fine-grained conceptual model of how consumers develop dietary stress when buying healthy food.
Abstract: Purpose: This study aims to investigate relationships among body mass index (BMI), socioeconomic variables, dietary self-efficacy and consumer dietary stress in healthy food buying and explore whether different levels of personal values influence these relationships.
Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on an online representative cross-sectional study with 380 food consumers. Structural equation modeling served to estimate direct, mediating and moderating effects between the studied constructs and variables.
Findings: Examples of moderating and moderated mediating effects include a negative impact of BMI on dietary stress for consumers with low levels of enjoyment value but no significant effect for consumers with high levels of enjoyment. BMI also had a greater negative impact on dietary self-efficacy when the level of respect/achievement was high (vs low), and respect/achievement positively moderated the mediating effect of BMI on dietary stress through dietary self-efficacy.
Research limitations/implications: This study focuses on analyzing healthy food buying in a particular cultural setting and may suffer from a lack of generalizability to other cultures. The results suggest that research should take into account personal values when investigating stress.
Practical implications: Food managers and health authorities can improve their ability to reduce dietary stress when addressing consumers by understanding the role of personal values in healthy food choice and the impact on mental well-being.
Originality/value: This study offers a novel, more fine-grained conceptual model of how consumers develop dietary stress when buying healthy food.
Journal: European Journal of Marketing
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Torben Hansen, Thyra Uth Thomsen
Race–gender Bias in White Americans’ Preferences for Gun Availability.
Abstract: We argue that Americans’ policy attitudes on firearm availability are influenced by the identity of the prospective owner. We use an experiment to demonstrate that attitudes towards gun control/availability are influenced by both race and gender; whether subjects are primed to think of African-Americans versus whites or men versus women has a substantial impact on the degree to which they support firearm access. We find that for many white Americans, Black men and white women stand on opposite poles – priming white Americans with the thought of a Black man decreases support for gun availability, whereas priming the thought of a white woman increases support for gun availability. Further, the magnitude of this effect is quite large – comparable to the difference between Democrats and Republicans. These findings underscore the importance of thinking about the complicated role identity groups play in understanding Americans’ preferences for government (in)action, even in policy areas with explicit Constitutional mandates.
Abstract: We argue that Americans’ policy attitudes on firearm availability are influenced by the identity of the prospective owner. We use an experiment to demonstrate that attitudes towards gun control/availability are influenced by both race and gender; whether subjects are primed to think of African-Americans versus whites or men versus women has a substantial impact on the degree to which they support firearm access. We find that for many white Americans, Black men and white women stand on opposite poles – priming white Americans with the thought of a Black man decreases support for gun availability, whereas priming the thought of a white woman increases support for gun availability. Further, the magnitude of this effect is quite large – comparable to the difference between Democrats and Republicans. These findings underscore the importance of thinking about the complicated role identity groups play in understanding Americans’ preferences for government (in)action, even in policy areas with explicit Constitutional mandates.
Journal: Journal of Public Policy
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: David Fortunato
Revenue Implications of Destination-Based Cash-Flow Taxation
Abstract: We estimate the revenue implications of a destination-based cash-flow tax (DBCFT) for 80 countries. On a global average, DBCFT revenues under unchanged tax rates would remain similar to the existing corporate income tax (CIT) revenue, but with sizable redistribution of revenue across countries. Countries are more likely to gain revenue if they have trade deficits, are not reliant on the resource sector, and/or—perhaps surprisingly—are developing economies. DBCFT revenues tend to be more volatile than CIT revenues. Moreover, we consider the revenue losses resulting from spillovers in case of unilateral implementation of a DBCFT. Results suggest that these spillover effects are sizeable if the adopting country is large and globally integrated. These spillovers generate strong revenue-based incentives for many—but not all—other countries to follow the DBCFT adoption.
Abstract: We estimate the revenue implications of a destination-based cash-flow tax (DBCFT) for 80 countries. On a global average, DBCFT revenues under unchanged tax rates would remain similar to the existing corporate income tax (CIT) revenue, but with sizable redistribution of revenue across countries. Countries are more likely to gain revenue if they have trade deficits, are not reliant on the resource sector, and/or—perhaps surprisingly—are developing economies. DBCFT revenues tend to be more volatile than CIT revenues. Moreover, we consider the revenue losses resulting from spillovers in case of unilateral implementation of a DBCFT. Results suggest that these spillover effects are sizeable if the adopting country is large and globally integrated. These spillovers generate strong revenue-based incentives for many—but not all—other countries to follow the DBCFT adoption.
Journal: IMF Economic Review
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Saila Stausholm
Structural Susceptibility to Corruption in FIFA: A Social Network Analysis
Abstract: Voting and decision making in FIFA was in 2011 shifted from the executive committee to the FIFA congress with the aim to reduce risk of corrupt vote mobilisation in these elections. A key rationale behind this decision was that it would not be financially feasible to bribe a majority of the congress. However, the network structure with asymmetries of influence can still be susceptible to corruption. The aim of this study is therefore to analyse the potential susceptibility of the organisation structure to a grand vote-rigging corruption scheme of FIFA World Cup host elections by means of a social network analysis approach. Based on a theoretical notion of vote mobilisation and inter-organisational networks, the organisational structure is evaluated to identify potential susceptibility to corruption. Two possible regimes were analysed, the centrally controlled and horizontally controlled, based on structural cohesion, embeddedness, network centralisation and correlation between actor centrality distributions. Findings do not suggest a susceptibility to a centrally controlled, but to a horizontally controlled vote-rigging corruption scheme. After the social network analysis was conducted, the holders of five out of eleven of the identified vulnerable positions in the network have been charged with allegations of corruption. This is a strong indicator of the validity of the method to assess the structural susceptibility to corruption.
Abstract: Voting and decision making in FIFA was in 2011 shifted from the executive committee to the FIFA congress with the aim to reduce risk of corrupt vote mobilisation in these elections. A key rationale behind this decision was that it would not be financially feasible to bribe a majority of the congress. However, the network structure with asymmetries of influence can still be susceptible to corruption. The aim of this study is therefore to analyse the potential susceptibility of the organisation structure to a grand vote-rigging corruption scheme of FIFA World Cup host elections by means of a social network analysis approach. Based on a theoretical notion of vote mobilisation and inter-organisational networks, the organisational structure is evaluated to identify potential susceptibility to corruption. Two possible regimes were analysed, the centrally controlled and horizontally controlled, based on structural cohesion, embeddedness, network centralisation and correlation between actor centrality distributions. Findings do not suggest a susceptibility to a centrally controlled, but to a horizontally controlled vote-rigging corruption scheme. After the social network analysis was conducted, the holders of five out of eleven of the identified vulnerable positions in the network have been charged with allegations of corruption. This is a strong indicator of the validity of the method to assess the structural susceptibility to corruption.
Journal: International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Sven Junghagen
Managing Change with the Support of Smart Technology: A Field Investigation of Ride-hailing Services
Abstract: With the support of smart technology, IT-enabled services have become “smart” and have progressively disrupted existing markets. Ride-hailing services (RHSs) are widely regarded as representative of these IT-enabled services. However, few studies on IT-enabled services investigate how the technological attributes of smart technology influence service performance in a continuously changing environment. We developed our research model according to Wixom and Todd’s model, the literature on change management, and the literature on information system postadoption behavior. We conducted a large-scale field study by surveying 380 drivers from major metropolises in mainland China and a post hoc qualitative interpretation to validate our model. We found that smart technological attributes of RHS systems (i.e., monitoring, control, advisory support, and responsive support) positively influence functionality and content quality, which in turn influence service quality. In addition, service quality positively influences drivers’ postadoption attitudes and behaviors, including openness to RHS change, job satisfaction, and continuous usage intentions. Our findings provide important theoretical and practical implications.
Abstract: With the support of smart technology, IT-enabled services have become “smart” and have progressively disrupted existing markets. Ride-hailing services (RHSs) are widely regarded as representative of these IT-enabled services. However, few studies on IT-enabled services investigate how the technological attributes of smart technology influence service performance in a continuously changing environment. We developed our research model according to Wixom and Todd’s model, the literature on change management, and the literature on information system postadoption behavior. We conducted a large-scale field study by surveying 380 drivers from major metropolises in mainland China and a post hoc qualitative interpretation to validate our model. We found that smart technological attributes of RHS systems (i.e., monitoring, control, advisory support, and responsive support) positively influence functionality and content quality, which in turn influence service quality. In addition, service quality positively influences drivers’ postadoption attitudes and behaviors, including openness to RHS change, job satisfaction, and continuous usage intentions. Our findings provide important theoretical and practical implications.
Journal: Journal of the Association for Information Systems
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Qiqi Jiang
Testing a Model of Destination Image Formation: Application of Bayesian Relational Modelling and fsQCA
Abstract: Individuals’ destination images are constantly updated through their exposure to various stimuli sent from diverse information sources1 widely accessible in the modern society. Such dynamics of destination image formation2 is better explained with the iterative process of a concept learning framework integrated into the destination image models. DDIF implies that individuals having been exposed to similar stimuli in the iterative image formation process have a higher likelihood of developing a similar mental representation3. Accordingly, this study employs an innovative methodological framework to extract patterns of MR of destinations held by groups of individuals (segments) and to compare segment-specific patterns of MR with their relations to willingness to visit4 and to ISs. The results demonstrate that what segments associate with a destination relates to their W2V, and segments having rich and positive associations with a destination accessed a wider range of ISs to learn about the destination.
Abstract: Individuals’ destination images are constantly updated through their exposure to various stimuli sent from diverse information sources1 widely accessible in the modern society. Such dynamics of destination image formation2 is better explained with the iterative process of a concept learning framework integrated into the destination image models. DDIF implies that individuals having been exposed to similar stimuli in the iterative image formation process have a higher likelihood of developing a similar mental representation3. Accordingly, this study employs an innovative methodological framework to extract patterns of MR of destinations held by groups of individuals (segments) and to compare segment-specific patterns of MR with their relations to willingness to visit4 and to ISs. The results demonstrate that what segments associate with a destination relates to their W2V, and segments having rich and positive associations with a destination accessed a wider range of ISs to learn about the destination.
Journal: Journal of Business Research
Published: November 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Fumiko Kano Glückstad
Intratemporal Nonseparability between Housing and Nondurable Consumption: Evidence from Reinvestment in Housing Stock
Abstract: Using the data on maintenance expenditures and self-assessed house value, I separate the measure of individual housing stock and house prices, and use these data for testing whether nondurable consumption and housing are characterized by intratemporal nonseparability in households’ preferences. I find evidence in favor of intratemporal dependence between total nondurable consumption and housing. My findings indicate the elasticity of intratemporal substitution between nondurable consumption and housing is higher than the elasticity of intertemporal substitution for composite consumption bundles. Moreover, assuming CES utility, my results are indicative about complementarity between nondurable consumption and housing in the intratemporal preferences.
Abstract: Using the data on maintenance expenditures and self-assessed house value, I separate the measure of individual housing stock and house prices, and use these data for testing whether nondurable consumption and housing are characterized by intratemporal nonseparability in households’ preferences. I find evidence in favor of intratemporal dependence between total nondurable consumption and housing. My findings indicate the elasticity of intratemporal substitution between nondurable consumption and housing is higher than the elasticity of intertemporal substitution for composite consumption bundles. Moreover, assuming CES utility, my results are indicative about complementarity between nondurable consumption and housing in the intratemporal preferences.
Journal: Journal of Monetary Economics
Published: April 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Natalia Khorunzhina
Clip, Cut and Score? Maritime and Commercial Court of Denmark Rules in Landmark Case Concerning Copyright Infringement and Artists’ Rights.
Abstract: Pending
Abstract: Pending
Journal: Journal of Intellectual Property Law & Practice
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Vishv Priya Kohli
Who Captures Value from Open Innovation: The Firm or its Employees?
Abstract: We apply the bargaining power lens on strategic management to analyze the risk related to potential extraction of value by company employees working on open innovation (OI) in the firm. OI exposes individuals to various opportunities, provides a better awareness of the value of their knowledge in other contexts, and makes them more visible externally. OI activity allows access to critical firm knowledge enabling negotiation and engagement with external parties. All of these factors increase the likelihood that these individuals will exit the firm, taking with them valuable proprietary knowledge, while these attractive exit options endow them with significant bargaining power internally. The firm may try to counter this by the imposition of contractual obligations and intellectual property protection using mechanisms which often are only partly effective. This can result in a trade-off between staffing positions related only to OI tasks with individuals that are the best fit from a value creation point of view, thus giving more weight to value capture. We argue that the choices involved in balancing this trade-off will depend on the specific appropriation regime combined with the generality of the knowledge involved. We posit that that in some cases firms may appoint employees with high levels of probity rather than the greatest OI competences.
Abstract: We apply the bargaining power lens on strategic management to analyze the risk related to potential extraction of value by company employees working on open innovation (OI) in the firm. OI exposes individuals to various opportunities, provides a better awareness of the value of their knowledge in other contexts, and makes them more visible externally. OI activity allows access to critical firm knowledge enabling negotiation and engagement with external parties. All of these factors increase the likelihood that these individuals will exit the firm, taking with them valuable proprietary knowledge, while these attractive exit options endow them with significant bargaining power internally. The firm may try to counter this by the imposition of contractual obligations and intellectual property protection using mechanisms which often are only partly effective. This can result in a trade-off between staffing positions related only to OI tasks with individuals that are the best fit from a value creation point of view, thus giving more weight to value capture. We argue that the choices involved in balancing this trade-off will depend on the specific appropriation regime combined with the generality of the knowledge involved. We posit that that in some cases firms may appoint employees with high levels of probity rather than the greatest OI competences.
Journal: Strategic Management Review
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Keld Laursen
"Why Is the EU Commission not Investigating the Swedish Aviation Tax as Unlawfull State Aid?"
Abstract: Pending
Abstract: Pending
Journal: Svensk Skattetidning
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Yvette Lind
Political Theology and Historical Materialism: Reading Benjamin against Agamben
Abstract: Giorgio Agamben’s work on the power of sovereignty has been greatly influential in recent political thought. However, it has also overshadowed the independently original contributions of his two primary theoretical sources, Carl Schmitt and Walter Benjamin. In this article, I argue that Agamben’s political defeatism can be traced back to a double misconception in his reception of these two authors: first a formalistic reduction of Schmitt, and second a Schmittian reduction of Benjamin. Through this reduction to juridical formalism, the radicality of Benjamin’s historical materialist critique is replaced by a messianic nihilism, leading to the colonization of society by the logic of the concentration camp. Though Agamben’s theory of sovereignty and its implications for a positive political project have been contested, this origin of the decline of radical philosophy has not previously undergone a systematic critique.
Abstract: Giorgio Agamben’s work on the power of sovereignty has been greatly influential in recent political thought. However, it has also overshadowed the independently original contributions of his two primary theoretical sources, Carl Schmitt and Walter Benjamin. In this article, I argue that Agamben’s political defeatism can be traced back to a double misconception in his reception of these two authors: first a formalistic reduction of Schmitt, and second a Schmittian reduction of Benjamin. Through this reduction to juridical formalism, the radicality of Benjamin’s historical materialist critique is replaced by a messianic nihilism, leading to the colonization of society by the logic of the concentration camp. Though Agamben’s theory of sovereignty and its implications for a positive political project have been contested, this origin of the decline of radical philosophy has not previously undergone a systematic critique.
Journal: Theory, Culture & Society
Published: September 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Lotte List
Bæredygtighed i kriseperioder
Abstract: Globale aktieporteføljer med en bæredygtig profil vinder stadigt større indpas blandt investorer, og særligt har vi under COVID-19-krisen set større inflow i disse strategier end i traditionelle globale aktieporteføljer. Denne artikel diskuterer praktisk implementering af bæredygtighed i en global aktieportefølje og analyserer historisk performance i og udenfor kriseperioder, såvel som i relation til klassisk faktorinvestering. Analysen viser, at tilføjelse af en bæredygtig profil til en global aktieportefølje har en positiv indvirkning på det risikojusterede afkast. Det gælder både generelt og i kriseperioder, ligesom bæredygtighed også har en positiv effekt på de klassiske aktiefaktorer. Artiklen gennemgår desuden den seneste empiriske og teoretiske litteratur med fokus på forskellige motiver for bæredygtige investeringer.
Abstract: Globale aktieporteføljer med en bæredygtig profil vinder stadigt større indpas blandt investorer, og særligt har vi under COVID-19-krisen set større inflow i disse strategier end i traditionelle globale aktieporteføljer. Denne artikel diskuterer praktisk implementering af bæredygtighed i en global aktieportefølje og analyserer historisk performance i og udenfor kriseperioder, såvel som i relation til klassisk faktorinvestering. Analysen viser, at tilføjelse af en bæredygtig profil til en global aktieportefølje har en positiv indvirkning på det risikojusterede afkast. Det gælder både generelt og i kriseperioder, ligesom bæredygtighed også har en positiv effekt på de klassiske aktiefaktorer. Artiklen gennemgår desuden den seneste empiriske og teoretiske litteratur med fokus på forskellige motiver for bæredygtige investeringer.
Journal:Finans/Invest
Published:October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Mads Stenbo Nielsen
Humor er en sjov størrelse
Abstract: Det er sjovt, når en kollega fra et andet land kommer brasende for sent ind i et stort møde med danske kolleger og undskylder, at hun er forsinket, med disse ord: »Fyren gik i stå midt i nat«. Bemærkningen udløste i alle fald smil og latter blandt hendes danske kolleger i forsamlingen.
Abstract: Det er sjovt, når en kollega fra et andet land kommer brasende for sent ind i et stort møde med danske kolleger og undskylder, at hun er forsinket, med disse ord: »Fyren gik i stå midt i nat«. Bemærkningen udløste i alle fald smil og latter blandt hendes danske kolleger i forsamlingen.
Journal:Mål og Mæle
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Lita Sander Lundquist
The Timing of Entrepreneurial Experience and the Career Dynamics of University Graduates.
Abstract: The labor market value of former entrepreneurs remains unclear, with both theory and empirical evidence offering mixed conclusions. We suggest that the timing of entrepreneurial experience matters and helps unravel this puzzle. Using Danish employer-employee data on a large sample of university graduates, we show that the option value of testing an entrepreneurial opportunity and then returning to paid employment decreases over an individual's career. We follow individuals for fifteen years and compare the labor market outcomes of never, early, and late entrepreneurs based on the timing and type of entrepreneurial experience in their careers. Compared to those who have never been entrepreneurs, early entrepreneurs earn higher wages, while late entrepreneurs experience a significant wage penalty in the long run. Both the timing and the type of entrepreneurial experience shape individuals’ subsequent career trajectories and employers’ uncertainty about their value, which partly explain long-term wage differentials.
Abstract: The labor market value of former entrepreneurs remains unclear, with both theory and empirical evidence offering mixed conclusions. We suggest that the timing of entrepreneurial experience matters and helps unravel this puzzle. Using Danish employer-employee data on a large sample of university graduates, we show that the option value of testing an entrepreneurial opportunity and then returning to paid employment decreases over an individual's career. We follow individuals for fifteen years and compare the labor market outcomes of never, early, and late entrepreneurs based on the timing and type of entrepreneurial experience in their careers. Compared to those who have never been entrepreneurs, early entrepreneurs earn higher wages, while late entrepreneurs experience a significant wage penalty in the long run. Both the timing and the type of entrepreneurial experience shape individuals’ subsequent career trajectories and employers’ uncertainty about their value, which partly explain long-term wage differentials.
Journal:Research Policy
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Vera Rocha
Too Gloomy to Invest: Weather-induced Mood and Crowdfunding
Abstract: Do investors' moods influence their contributions to risky investments in equity crowdfunding? Yes. We use cloud cover as a proxy for mood because besides serving as powerful mood stimulus, changes in weather are plausibly exogenous and orthogonal to attributes of crowdfunding campaigns, yielding an advantageous identification strategy. Our results, based on data from Companisto – one of the largest European equity crowdfunding platforms, indicate that change in sky cloud cover from zero to full reduces each investor's contribution amount by about 10–15% (across different specifications). Our paper highlights the broader role of financiers' moods and emotions in providing valuable financial resources to entrepreneurs.
Abstract: Do investors' moods influence their contributions to risky investments in equity crowdfunding? Yes. We use cloud cover as a proxy for mood because besides serving as powerful mood stimulus, changes in weather are plausibly exogenous and orthogonal to attributes of crowdfunding campaigns, yielding an advantageous identification strategy. Our results, based on data from Companisto – one of the largest European equity crowdfunding platforms, indicate that change in sky cloud cover from zero to full reduces each investor's contribution amount by about 10–15% (across different specifications). Our paper highlights the broader role of financiers' moods and emotions in providing valuable financial resources to entrepreneurs.
Journal: Journal of Corporate Finance
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Ali Mohammadi
The Role of Institutions and Immigrant Networks in Firms’ Offshoring Decisions
Abstract: The offshoring of production by firms has expanded dramatically in recent decades, increasing their potential for economic growth. What determines the location of offshore production? How do countries’ policies and characteristics affect a firm's decision about where to offshore? Do firms choose specific countries because of the countries’ policies or because they know them better? In this paper, we use a rich dataset on Danish firms to analyze how decisions to offshore production depend on the institutional characteristics of the country and firm‐specific bilateral networks. We find that institutions that reduce credit risk and corruption increase the probability that firms will offshore there, while those that increase regulation in the labour market decrease this probability. We also show that a firm's probability of offshoring increases with the share of its employees who are immigrants from that country of origin. Finally, our analysis reveals that the negative impact of institutions that hinder offshoring is attenuated by a strong bilateral network of foreign workers.
Abstract: The offshoring of production by firms has expanded dramatically in recent decades, increasing their potential for economic growth. What determines the location of offshore production? How do countries’ policies and characteristics affect a firm's decision about where to offshore? Do firms choose specific countries because of the countries’ policies or because they know them better? In this paper, we use a rich dataset on Danish firms to analyze how decisions to offshore production depend on the institutional characteristics of the country and firm‐specific bilateral networks. We find that institutions that reduce credit risk and corruption increase the probability that firms will offshore there, while those that increase regulation in the labour market decrease this probability. We also show that a firm's probability of offshoring increases with the share of its employees who are immigrants from that country of origin. Finally, our analysis reveals that the negative impact of institutions that hinder offshoring is attenuated by a strong bilateral network of foreign workers.
Journal: Canadian Journal of Economics
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Dario Pozzoli
Sectoral Electricity Demand and Direct Rebound Effects in New Zealand.
Abstract: This paper is one of the limited studies to investigate rebound effects in sectoral electricity consumption and the specific case of New Zealand. New Zealand, like other OECD economies, has aimed for energy efficiency improvements and reduced electricity consumption from 9.2 MWh per capita in 2010 to 8.6 MWh per capita in 2015. However, following a significant decline since 2010, electricity consumption in the main New Zealand sectors is increasing. Energy conservation could play an important role in meeting the growing demand for electricity but rebound effects can affect the effectiveness of conservation policies. We decompose the sectoral electricity prices to capture the asymmetric demand response to electricity price changes and estimate electricity demand elasticity during 1980 and 2015 to estimate the sectoral rebound effects. We find partial rebound effects of 54% and 23% in the industrial and commercial sectors respectively while we find no rebound effect at the aggregate level. The rebound effect is insignificant in the residential sector. These findings lead to policy recommendations for sector specific energy conservation measures and policies.
Abstract: This paper is one of the limited studies to investigate rebound effects in sectoral electricity consumption and the specific case of New Zealand. New Zealand, like other OECD economies, has aimed for energy efficiency improvements and reduced electricity consumption from 9.2 MWh per capita in 2010 to 8.6 MWh per capita in 2015. However, following a significant decline since 2010, electricity consumption in the main New Zealand sectors is increasing. Energy conservation could play an important role in meeting the growing demand for electricity but rebound effects can affect the effectiveness of conservation policies. We decompose the sectoral electricity prices to capture the asymmetric demand response to electricity price changes and estimate electricity demand elasticity during 1980 and 2015 to estimate the sectoral rebound effects. We find partial rebound effects of 54% and 23% in the industrial and commercial sectors respectively while we find no rebound effect at the aggregate level. The rebound effect is insignificant in the residential sector. These findings lead to policy recommendations for sector specific energy conservation measures and policies.
Journal: The Energy Journal
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Tooraj Jamasb
Improving Climate Change Mitigation Analysis: A Framework for Examining Feasibility
Abstract: Limiting global warming to 2°C or less compared with pre-industrial temperatures will require unprecedented rates of decarbonization globally. The scale and scope of transformational change required across sectors and actors in society raises critical questions of feasibility. Much of the literature on mitigation pathways addresses technological and economic aspects of feasibility, but overlooks the behavioral, cultural, and social factors that affect theoretical and practical mitigation pathways. We present a tripartite framework that “unpacks” the concept of mitigation pathways by distinguishing three factors that together determine actual mitigation: technical potential, initiative feasibility, and behavioral plasticity. The framework aims to integrate and streamline heterogeneous disciplinary research traditions toward a more comprehensive and transparent approach that will facilitate learning across disciplines and enable mitigation pathways to more fully reflect available knowledge. We offer three suggestions for integrating the tripartite framework into current research on climate change mitigation.
Abstract: Limiting global warming to 2°C or less compared with pre-industrial temperatures will require unprecedented rates of decarbonization globally. The scale and scope of transformational change required across sectors and actors in society raises critical questions of feasibility. Much of the literature on mitigation pathways addresses technological and economic aspects of feasibility, but overlooks the behavioral, cultural, and social factors that affect theoretical and practical mitigation pathways. We present a tripartite framework that “unpacks” the concept of mitigation pathways by distinguishing three factors that together determine actual mitigation: technical potential, initiative feasibility, and behavioral plasticity. The framework aims to integrate and streamline heterogeneous disciplinary research traditions toward a more comprehensive and transparent approach that will facilitate learning across disciplines and enable mitigation pathways to more fully reflect available knowledge. We offer three suggestions for integrating the tripartite framework into current research on climate change mitigation.
Journal: One Earth
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Maria J. Figueroa, Wencke Gwozdz, Lucia A. Reisch
Fifty Years of Methodological Trends in JIBS: Why Future IB Research Needs More Triangulation.
Abstract: We analyze methodological trends in empirical research in JIBS from 1970 to 2019. Our results point to the prevalence of the following patterns: there has been an increase in the use of (1) large-scale longitudinal, cross-national datasets, (2) complex analytical techniques, including the incorporation of multiple analytical techniques within the same study, but (3) a decline in the diversity of methods in use. We relate these trends to the underlying social, technical, and communicative conventions in the journal during the 50-year period. The observed patterns are consistent with theory that posits scientific fields entrench a dominant paradigm over time, resulting in a restricted set of methodological options being selected. Such restrictions jeopardize the quality of research because the study of any phenomenon requires the use of multiple methodological procedures to avoid the systematic biases, errors, omissions, and limitations introduced by any single option. Therefore, we propose the use of triangulation as a strategy for building methodological alternatives into research designs. Institutionalization of this principle in the field of international business has the potential to enhance both the rigor and scope of future inquiry.
Abstract: We analyze methodological trends in empirical research in JIBS from 1970 to 2019. Our results point to the prevalence of the following patterns: there has been an increase in the use of (1) large-scale longitudinal, cross-national datasets, (2) complex analytical techniques, including the incorporation of multiple analytical techniques within the same study, but (3) a decline in the diversity of methods in use. We relate these trends to the underlying social, technical, and communicative conventions in the journal during the 50-year period. The observed patterns are consistent with theory that posits scientific fields entrench a dominant paradigm over time, resulting in a restricted set of methodological options being selected. Such restrictions jeopardize the quality of research because the study of any phenomenon requires the use of multiple methodological procedures to avoid the systematic biases, errors, omissions, and limitations introduced by any single option. Therefore, we propose the use of triangulation as a strategy for building methodological alternatives into research designs. Institutionalization of this principle in the field of international business has the potential to enhance both the rigor and scope of future inquiry.
Journal: Journal of International Business Studies
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Bo Bernhard Nielsen
Skal direktører i den finansielle sektor kun bestå af ældre mænd med en økonomisk kandidatgrad og et dansk pas?
Abstract: Rapporten ”Anbefalinger til fastlæggelse af kompetence- og erfaringskrav samt ansvarsområder” (dateret april 2020) fra fagudvalget under Finanstilsynet har med rette skabt en livlig debat i de seneste måneder. Med udgangspunkt i den omfattende rapport diskuterer vi i artiklen en række forhold, som, vi finder, er af central betydning for fastlæggelsen af kravene til ledelsen i pengeinstitutter m.fl. Artiklen udfordrer dermed på en række områder rapportens konklusioner men sætter også i et bredere perspektiv fokus på, hvad, vi mener, er væsentligt at holde sig for øje, når den finansielle sektor skal rustes til at imødegå de strategiske udfordringer, den står over for.
Abstract: Rapporten ”Anbefalinger til fastlæggelse af kompetence- og erfaringskrav samt ansvarsområder” (dateret april 2020) fra fagudvalget under Finanstilsynet har med rette skabt en livlig debat i de seneste måneder. Med udgangspunkt i den omfattende rapport diskuterer vi i artiklen en række forhold, som, vi finder, er af central betydning for fastlæggelsen af kravene til ledelsen i pengeinstitutter m.fl. Artiklen udfordrer dermed på en række områder rapportens konklusioner men sætter også i et bredere perspektiv fokus på, hvad, vi mener, er væsentligt at holde sig for øje, når den finansielle sektor skal rustes til at imødegå de strategiske udfordringer, den står over for.
Journal: Finans/Invest
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Lars Ohnemus
Strategic Enablement Investments: Exploring Differences in Human and Technological Knowledge Transfers to Supply Chain Partners
Abstract: Business-to-business firms have a long history of investing in training their supply chain partners using primarily salespeople. However, advances in technology now allow for elements of sales enablement programs to be automated and run without human involvement. This paper examines how human and technology enablers are suited to transfer tacit and explicit knowledge respectively. It constructs a strategic enablement investment framework that, depending on the mix of investments in human or technology enablers, results in four types of learning environments: self-directed, collaborative, adaptive, and complex. We close by discussing the implications for future research and offer guidance for industrial marketing managers.
Abstract: Business-to-business firms have a long history of investing in training their supply chain partners using primarily salespeople. However, advances in technology now allow for elements of sales enablement programs to be automated and run without human involvement. This paper examines how human and technology enablers are suited to transfer tacit and explicit knowledge respectively. It constructs a strategic enablement investment framework that, depending on the mix of investments in human or technology enablers, results in four types of learning environments: self-directed, collaborative, adaptive, and complex. We close by discussing the implications for future research and offer guidance for industrial marketing managers.
Journal: Industrial Marketing Management
Published: November 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Michael Etter, Jesper Clement
Workers’ Councils and Radical Democracy: Toward a Conceptual History of Council Democracy from Marx to Occupy
Abstract: Over the last ten years, scholars have rediscovered the relevance of council democracy and workers’ councils for democratic thought. While these interventions are important, the literature lacks a coherent reconstruction of the development of council democracy in modern political thought. This article fills that lacuna by distinguishing between three conceptions of council democracy. One conception, advocated by Vladimir Lenin, interprets the councils as revolutionary organs able to destroy the old regime, but unable to govern afterwards. Another conception, favored by the interwar council communists, stresses the ability of workers’ councils to democratize the workplace, providing the germs of economic democracy. The third, delivered by Cornelius Castoriadis and Hannah Arendt, emphasizes the radical democratic nature of workers’ councils as an alternative to representative democracy. We argue that these three conceptions, notwithstanding their fundamental differences, share several core principles that can guide contemporary scholars to theorize the council as part of radical democratic repertoires. Moreover, we show the importance of these principles of council democracy for the constituent ambitions of contemporary movements like Occupy.
Abstract: Over the last ten years, scholars have rediscovered the relevance of council democracy and workers’ councils for democratic thought. While these interventions are important, the literature lacks a coherent reconstruction of the development of council democracy in modern political thought. This article fills that lacuna by distinguishing between three conceptions of council democracy. One conception, advocated by Vladimir Lenin, interprets the councils as revolutionary organs able to destroy the old regime, but unable to govern afterwards. Another conception, favored by the interwar council communists, stresses the ability of workers’ councils to democratize the workplace, providing the germs of economic democracy. The third, delivered by Cornelius Castoriadis and Hannah Arendt, emphasizes the radical democratic nature of workers’ councils as an alternative to representative democracy. We argue that these three conceptions, notwithstanding their fundamental differences, share several core principles that can guide contemporary scholars to theorize the council as part of radical democratic repertoires. Moreover, we show the importance of these principles of council democracy for the constituent ambitions of contemporary movements like Occupy.
Journal: Polity
Published: November 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Benjamin Ask Popp-Madsen
From Workers’ Councils to Democratic Autonomy: Rediscovering Cornelius Castoriadis' Theory of Council Democracy
Abstract: Cornelius Castoriadis is one of the most important democratic thinkers in the second half of the twentieth century, and his theory of autonomy and the self-instituted character of society are fundamental to many post-Marxist theories of democracy. The role of the council system in Castoriadis' work, though, has rarely been investigated, and his analysis of the twentieth century workers' councils of has seldom been connected to his important concepts of autonomy and the instituting power. The article remedies this lack of engagement with Castoriadis' analysis of the council system and argues that the emergence of workers' councils in Castoriadis' own lifetime, during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, provided a crucial impetus for his formulation of a theory of autonomy. Moreover, the article argues that the role of the council system in Castoriadis' work provides a privileged vantage point in order to nuance the critique – voiced by for example Jürgen Habermas and Claude Lefort – that Castoriadis exclusively valorise constituent politics without properly appreciating the importance of ordinary politics. Contrary to this interpretation, the article demonstrates how Castoriadis look to the councils to understand how democratic politics entails both freedom to act anew and the need for institutional structure.
Abstract: Cornelius Castoriadis is one of the most important democratic thinkers in the second half of the twentieth century, and his theory of autonomy and the self-instituted character of society are fundamental to many post-Marxist theories of democracy. The role of the council system in Castoriadis' work, though, has rarely been investigated, and his analysis of the twentieth century workers' councils of has seldom been connected to his important concepts of autonomy and the instituting power. The article remedies this lack of engagement with Castoriadis' analysis of the council system and argues that the emergence of workers' councils in Castoriadis' own lifetime, during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, provided a crucial impetus for his formulation of a theory of autonomy. Moreover, the article argues that the role of the council system in Castoriadis' work provides a privileged vantage point in order to nuance the critique – voiced by for example Jürgen Habermas and Claude Lefort – that Castoriadis exclusively valorise constituent politics without properly appreciating the importance of ordinary politics. Contrary to this interpretation, the article demonstrates how Castoriadis look to the councils to understand how democratic politics entails both freedom to act anew and the need for institutional structure.
Journal: Critical Horizons: A Journal of Philosophy and Social Theory
Published: November 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Benjamin Ask Popp-Madsen
Identity Markers for Wine Producers: Terroir and Beyond
Abstract: The article investigates how wineries have used different markers as an effort to differentiate themselves from other producers and support their self-identity. The most dominant markers perceived by the respondents are tied to different forms of regional/geographical markers, such as terroir including the AOC, and organic production. They stress the vine and agricultural aspects of winemaking. In addition, some markers also include special wine, such as old vine as a special aspect of identity as quality producers. The empirical basis is 23 face-to-face in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews with owners and winemakers in wineries in New South Wales, Australia, Provence, France and by the river Duero, Spain; and two wine experts in Australia and in Spain. The analytical perspective includes the notion of boundary objects, and the role of technological actors in an Actor-Network theoretical approach. We also make use of the framework of small business identity as production oriented. The main conclusion of the paper is that wine producers in the market of quality wine tie their efforts to differentiate their quality wine to their identity work.
Abstract: The article investigates how wineries have used different markers as an effort to differentiate themselves from other producers and support their self-identity. The most dominant markers perceived by the respondents are tied to different forms of regional/geographical markers, such as terroir including the AOC, and organic production. They stress the vine and agricultural aspects of winemaking. In addition, some markers also include special wine, such as old vine as a special aspect of identity as quality producers. The empirical basis is 23 face-to-face in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews with owners and winemakers in wineries in New South Wales, Australia, Provence, France and by the river Duero, Spain; and two wine experts in Australia and in Spain. The analytical perspective includes the notion of boundary objects, and the role of technological actors in an Actor-Network theoretical approach. We also make use of the framework of small business identity as production oriented. The main conclusion of the paper is that wine producers in the market of quality wine tie their efforts to differentiate their quality wine to their identity work.
Journal: Journal of Wine Research
Published: September 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Christian Poulsen, Mette Mønsted
Challenges for Academic Organizations' Legitimacy in Colombia's Transition to a Postconflict Context
Abstract: Purpose – We explore and explain how academic organizations attempt to establish legitimacy in a transition to a postconflict context, and we examine the ethical challenges that emerge from insightful approaches to formal education in such contexts. Design/methodology/approach – We use legitimacy theory to present a case study of a business school in Medellin, Colombia (herein referred to by the pseudonym BS-MED) in the empirical setting of the end of the most prolonged armed conflict in the world. Findings – We identify the mechanisms implemented by BS-MED to comply with the Colombian government’s peace process and rhetoric of business profitability and the faculty members’ initiatives in response to social and academic tensions. Originality/value – This study identifies the sources of the tensions and discrepancies between the regulatory and pragmatic versus moral and cultural-cognitive criteria of legitimacy in transitions to a postconflict context. This examination advances our understanding of the challenges that organizations face regarding changes to legitimacy over time. The extreme setting of our case positions academics as key players who lead the search for legitimacy. This study challenges the understandings of legitimacy
Abstract: Purpose – We explore and explain how academic organizations attempt to establish legitimacy in a transition to a postconflict context, and we examine the ethical challenges that emerge from insightful approaches to formal education in such contexts. Design/methodology/approach – We use legitimacy theory to present a case study of a business school in Medellin, Colombia (herein referred to by the pseudonym BS-MED) in the empirical setting of the end of the most prolonged armed conflict in the world. Findings – We identify the mechanisms implemented by BS-MED to comply with the Colombian government’s peace process and rhetoric of business profitability and the faculty members’ initiatives in response to social and academic tensions. Originality/value – This study identifies the sources of the tensions and discrepancies between the regulatory and pragmatic versus moral and cultural-cognitive criteria of legitimacy in transitions to a postconflict context. This examination advances our understanding of the challenges that organizations face regarding changes to legitimacy over time. The extreme setting of our case positions academics as key players who lead the search for legitimacy. This study challenges the understandings of legitimacy
Journal: Journal of Organizational Change Management
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Jacobo Ramirez
Governance in Energy Democracy for Sustainable Development Goals: Challenges and Opportunities for Partnerships at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
Abstract: This study provides a public policy framework for the governance of energy democracy toward meeting the United Nation’s SDGs, and proposes guidelines for policymakers on designing partnerships that promote renewable energy. An increasing number of multinational enterprises (MNEs) and public organizations are prioritizing energy democracy and decarbonization strategies by investing in renewable energy. However, I argue that energy democracy is not “just” about opening up the energy sector to large-scale renewable energy investments. I explore the challenges facing the implementation of energy democracy through a qualitative study conducted from 2013 to 2020 of wind-energy investments at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico. A key challenge preventing energy democracy and renewable energy partnerships with indigenous communities at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is the lack of good governance – corruption, poor accountability, and limited access to information about energy and the environment. Wind-energy investments implemented under the understanding of Partnerships for the Goals may offer sustainable alternatives for reaching the goal of Energy for All and mitigating climate change according to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Abstract: This study provides a public policy framework for the governance of energy democracy toward meeting the United Nation’s SDGs, and proposes guidelines for policymakers on designing partnerships that promote renewable energy. An increasing number of multinational enterprises (MNEs) and public organizations are prioritizing energy democracy and decarbonization strategies by investing in renewable energy. However, I argue that energy democracy is not “just” about opening up the energy sector to large-scale renewable energy investments. I explore the challenges facing the implementation of energy democracy through a qualitative study conducted from 2013 to 2020 of wind-energy investments at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico. A key challenge preventing energy democracy and renewable energy partnerships with indigenous communities at the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is the lack of good governance – corruption, poor accountability, and limited access to information about energy and the environment. Wind-energy investments implemented under the understanding of Partnerships for the Goals may offer sustainable alternatives for reaching the goal of Energy for All and mitigating climate change according to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Journal: Journal of International Business Policy
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Jacobo Ramirez
Why did German Early Industrial Capitalists Suggest Workers’ Pensions, Arbitration Boards and Minimum Wages?
Abstract: Today at the beginning of the 21st century, there is a debate across Europe about how much welfare society should provide, and how much private insurance is possible. Two hundred years ago, in the formative period of industrial capitalism, social problems had long been left to private initiative. Commodification of labour and its concentration in large factories, however, created demand for social protection beyond the limited shelter provided by charity. Representatives of industry in Aachen suggested compulsory factory rules granting rights to workers, compulsory workers’ pension funds, minimum wages and maximum working hours. The article argues that the industrialists’ aim was to stabilize the social order of industrial capitalism by using ideas of social partnership. Labour should not just be pacified, but reconciled with capitalist society. While interpreting social policy as a capitalist aim, the article aims to contribute to the discussion about the origins of the welfare state.
Abstract: Today at the beginning of the 21st century, there is a debate across Europe about how much welfare society should provide, and how much private insurance is possible. Two hundred years ago, in the formative period of industrial capitalism, social problems had long been left to private initiative. Commodification of labour and its concentration in large factories, however, created demand for social protection beyond the limited shelter provided by charity. Representatives of industry in Aachen suggested compulsory factory rules granting rights to workers, compulsory workers’ pension funds, minimum wages and maximum working hours. The article argues that the industrialists’ aim was to stabilize the social order of industrial capitalism by using ideas of social partnership. Labour should not just be pacified, but reconciled with capitalist society. While interpreting social policy as a capitalist aim, the article aims to contribute to the discussion about the origins of the welfare state.
Journal: Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Alfred Reckendrees
Brand Aid and Coffee Value Chain Development Interventions: Is Starbucks Working Aid Out of Business?
Abstract: In spring 2016, Starbucks launched its first single-origin specialty coffee from South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This coffee was produced with support from a partnership known as Kahawa Bora—a value chain development intervention (VCDI) combining a coffee corporation (Starbucks), a celebrity (Ben Affleck) and a development agency (USAID). Moving from disengaged cause-marketing to engaged development interventions, these types of partnerships promise to help beneficiaries, provide good feelings to consumers and promote the brands of corporations and NGOs. This paper applies a value chain approach to the concept of ‘Brand Aid’ as a modality of development intervention to parse the possibilities and limitations of involving corporations and celebrities in development interventions and to address a considerable research gap on the local effects that Brand Aid partnerships have on their intended beneficiaries in the global South. On the basis of original data from fieldwork in DRC, a desk study and interviews with stakeholders of the project, we compare Kahawa Bora’s formation, development and outcomes to those of a more traditional and less glitzy VCDI that has been operating in the same areas of Eastern Congo. We find that Kahawa Bora has attracted considerably more attention than other VCDIs, with little to show in terms of coffee supply and tangible benefits to farmers. We conclude that while Brand Aid forms of VCDIs promise to ‘work aid out of business’, they actually serve the interests of business and celebrities, while their actual impact on the ground is limited and uncertain.
Abstract: In spring 2016, Starbucks launched its first single-origin specialty coffee from South Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This coffee was produced with support from a partnership known as Kahawa Bora—a value chain development intervention (VCDI) combining a coffee corporation (Starbucks), a celebrity (Ben Affleck) and a development agency (USAID). Moving from disengaged cause-marketing to engaged development interventions, these types of partnerships promise to help beneficiaries, provide good feelings to consumers and promote the brands of corporations and NGOs. This paper applies a value chain approach to the concept of ‘Brand Aid’ as a modality of development intervention to parse the possibilities and limitations of involving corporations and celebrities in development interventions and to address a considerable research gap on the local effects that Brand Aid partnerships have on their intended beneficiaries in the global South. On the basis of original data from fieldwork in DRC, a desk study and interviews with stakeholders of the project, we compare Kahawa Bora’s formation, development and outcomes to those of a more traditional and less glitzy VCDI that has been operating in the same areas of Eastern Congo. We find that Kahawa Bora has attracted considerably more attention than other VCDIs, with little to show in terms of coffee supply and tangible benefits to farmers. We conclude that while Brand Aid forms of VCDIs promise to ‘work aid out of business’, they actually serve the interests of business and celebrities, while their actual impact on the ground is limited and uncertain.
Journal: World Development
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Lisa Ann Richey, Stefano Ponte
Sound Speculators: Public Debates about Futures Trading in British India and Germany, 1880–1930.
Abstract: Considerations about the legitimacy of futures trading have been ubiquitous in the highly integrated world economy since the late nineteenth century. This article compares two national debates in Germany and British India from the 1880s to the 1930s. Despite significant differences in the cultural and economic contexts of the two countries and in the emergence of futures trading, there are interesting similarities. In both countries, individual futures exchanges were organized and controlled by small privileged groups of traders. These minorities were glued together by social ties, de facto controlling (or profiting from) access to futures markets and facing criticism because of their privileged position. While contemporaries and historians often focus on futures trading as trading without intent to deliver, the historical analysis in this article shows that an equally important issue was the conflict over distribution and power between more and less privileged interest groups and their respective market access.
Abstract: Considerations about the legitimacy of futures trading have been ubiquitous in the highly integrated world economy since the late nineteenth century. This article compares two national debates in Germany and British India from the 1880s to the 1930s. Despite significant differences in the cultural and economic contexts of the two countries and in the emergence of futures trading, there are interesting similarities. In both countries, individual futures exchanges were organized and controlled by small privileged groups of traders. These minorities were glued together by social ties, de facto controlling (or profiting from) access to futures markets and facing criticism because of their privileged position. While contemporaries and historians often focus on futures trading as trading without intent to deliver, the historical analysis in this article shows that an equally important issue was the conflict over distribution and power between more and less privileged interest groups and their respective market access.
Journal: Enterprise & Society
Published: June 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Christina Lubinski
De-risking or Recontracting: The Risk Dilemma of EU Money Laundering Regulation
Abstract: Purpose: Recent research and market effects within the European Union (EU) show a rising concern toward the de-risking of certain sectors/actors owing to the increased anti-money laundering regulation. Because of the enhanced due diligence and monitoring costs related to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulation by the AMLD4 and AMLD5, several financial institutions now turn to de-risking their corporate client base to minimize not only costs from monitoring and onboarding but also the risks of sanctions and reputation. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the incentives behind de-risking and the relevant solution models to the de-risking “crisis.” Overall, to find, to what extend de-risking is efficient and when it is not and how to mitigate the concept.
Design/methodology/approach: This paper applies a functional approach to law and economics with the aim of reaching a higher level of efficiency in combatting money laundering through analyzing present regulatory and economic conditions.
Findings: It is found that de-risking within the EU opposes the aim of the present regulatory scheme regarding anti-money laundering. The paper finds that it is needed to divide the analysis of de-risking to a national and regional/union level. In addition, this paper establishes that the present strategy of de-risking at national level eventually will result in enhanced regulation to fulfill the aim of the present regulatory framework, which is why a proactive approach by recontracting the client base is recommended. At a regional level, it is found that de-risking is valid, why a solution needs to come from the EU enhancing control, monitoring and sanctions to establish trust and the possibility for financial inclusion.
Originality/value: Most of the recent research within the field highlights the problem of de-risking and therefore presents a range of initiatives to regulators and financial institutions at a global level. This paper solely focuses on the EU and shows that the de-risking dilemma demands financial institutions to take a proactive approach to contracting if unnecessary regulation is to be hindered. Furthermore, this paper shows that the concept of de-risking cannot be analyzed nor mitigated as one singular concept, but it needs to be addressed according to different levels of activity and geography.
Abstract: Purpose: Recent research and market effects within the European Union (EU) show a rising concern toward the de-risking of certain sectors/actors owing to the increased anti-money laundering regulation. Because of the enhanced due diligence and monitoring costs related to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing regulation by the AMLD4 and AMLD5, several financial institutions now turn to de-risking their corporate client base to minimize not only costs from monitoring and onboarding but also the risks of sanctions and reputation. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the incentives behind de-risking and the relevant solution models to the de-risking “crisis.” Overall, to find, to what extend de-risking is efficient and when it is not and how to mitigate the concept.
Design/methodology/approach: This paper applies a functional approach to law and economics with the aim of reaching a higher level of efficiency in combatting money laundering through analyzing present regulatory and economic conditions.
Findings: It is found that de-risking within the EU opposes the aim of the present regulatory scheme regarding anti-money laundering. The paper finds that it is needed to divide the analysis of de-risking to a national and regional/union level. In addition, this paper establishes that the present strategy of de-risking at national level eventually will result in enhanced regulation to fulfill the aim of the present regulatory framework, which is why a proactive approach by recontracting the client base is recommended. At a regional level, it is found that de-risking is valid, why a solution needs to come from the EU enhancing control, monitoring and sanctions to establish trust and the possibility for financial inclusion.
Originality/value: Most of the recent research within the field highlights the problem of de-risking and therefore presents a range of initiatives to regulators and financial institutions at a global level. This paper solely focuses on the EU and shows that the de-risking dilemma demands financial institutions to take a proactive approach to contracting if unnecessary regulation is to be hindered. Furthermore, this paper shows that the concept of de-risking cannot be analyzed nor mitigated as one singular concept, but it needs to be addressed according to different levels of activity and geography.
Journal: The Journal of Risk Finance
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Kalle Johannes Rose
Distrust in Banks and Fintech Participation: The Case of Peer-to-Peer Lending.
Abstract: What has boosted crowdfunding’s growth? In the case of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, we highlight the role of consumers’ distrust in banks. We offer evidence that distrust in banks likely triggers individuals to supply funding toward crowdfunding and away from bank deposits. We highlight that a distrust mindset promotes questioning default choices and considering alternatives, and fosters comparisons focusing on dissimilarities. Our findings suggest US states whose residents express greater distrust in banks are more likely to fund P2P loans and, conditional on funding, lend higher amounts. This relationship is more pronounced when funding small loans or borrowers with less banking access.
Abstract: What has boosted crowdfunding’s growth? In the case of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, we highlight the role of consumers’ distrust in banks. We offer evidence that distrust in banks likely triggers individuals to supply funding toward crowdfunding and away from bank deposits. We highlight that a distrust mindset promotes questioning default choices and considering alternatives, and fosters comparisons focusing on dissimilarities. Our findings suggest US states whose residents express greater distrust in banks are more likely to fund P2P loans and, conditional on funding, lend higher amounts. This relationship is more pronounced when funding small loans or borrowers with less banking access.
Journal: Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Ali Mohammadi
Flickering Lifelines: Electrification and Household Welfare in India
Abstract: This study moves beyond counting electrified households as the policy consensus on electrification and examines the effect of reliability of electricity on household's welfare in India. We analyse two household surveys covering the period from 2005 to 2018, and examine the effect of additional hours of electricity using panel fixed effects instrumental variables regressions. We focus on the intensive margins of deficiency, i.e. how additional hours of electricity in a day affects household's consumption expenditure, income, amenities, assets, borrowing and the status of poverty among others. Results show significant effects of an additional hour of electricity overall, especially among the poor households in rural India. The findings are robust to alternative ways of measuring household income, the use of alternative datasets to measure the effects on reliable electrification, as well as other robustness checks. The study recommends progressive pricing with targeted subsidies for the electrified households to increase household welfare while reducing the financial losses of the State Electricity Boards.
Abstract: This study moves beyond counting electrified households as the policy consensus on electrification and examines the effect of reliability of electricity on household's welfare in India. We analyse two household surveys covering the period from 2005 to 2018, and examine the effect of additional hours of electricity using panel fixed effects instrumental variables regressions. We focus on the intensive margins of deficiency, i.e. how additional hours of electricity in a day affects household's consumption expenditure, income, amenities, assets, borrowing and the status of poverty among others. Results show significant effects of an additional hour of electricity overall, especially among the poor households in rural India. The findings are robust to alternative ways of measuring household income, the use of alternative datasets to measure the effects on reliable electrification, as well as other robustness checks. The study recommends progressive pricing with targeted subsidies for the electrified households to increase household welfare while reducing the financial losses of the State Electricity Boards.
Journal: Energy Economics
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Tooraj Jamasb
From Awkwardness to Action Christian Voluntarism in Denmark Beyond the Sector Model of Civil Society.
Abstract: The article challenges the theoretical “sectoral model” of civil society through a historical case study and offers an alternative actor-centered approach inspired by American pragmatism. First, three separate strands of research are identified that each conceptualize civil society as a sector with institutional independence, a single normative logic, and fixed roles. Building on archival material on the Danish temperance organization the Blue Cross, the article then compares the theory to the empirical case. It is argued that the CSO exposes three types of “awkwardness” in the sector model, as the Blue Cross (1) de-differentiated and became part of the public system of treatment for alcoholism, (2) applied multiple logics depending on the audience it addressed, and (3) acted in the role of “interpreter” rather than “antenna”—and specifically interpreted the needs of alcoholics in mutual understanding with state authorities. Finally, an alternative approach to the study of CSOs is proposed: a historically sensitive approach that differently from an ahistorical model analyzes collective actors historically, affirmatively, and situationally through their application of contentious and non-contentious repertoires of civic action.
Abstract: The article challenges the theoretical “sectoral model” of civil society through a historical case study and offers an alternative actor-centered approach inspired by American pragmatism. First, three separate strands of research are identified that each conceptualize civil society as a sector with institutional independence, a single normative logic, and fixed roles. Building on archival material on the Danish temperance organization the Blue Cross, the article then compares the theory to the empirical case. It is argued that the CSO exposes three types of “awkwardness” in the sector model, as the Blue Cross (1) de-differentiated and became part of the public system of treatment for alcoholism, (2) applied multiple logics depending on the audience it addressed, and (3) acted in the role of “interpreter” rather than “antenna”—and specifically interpreted the needs of alcoholics in mutual understanding with state authorities. Finally, an alternative approach to the study of CSOs is proposed: a historically sensitive approach that differently from an ahistorical model analyzes collective actors historically, affirmatively, and situationally through their application of contentious and non-contentious repertoires of civic action.
Journal: International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Anders Sevelsted
The Risk of Programmatic Advertising: Effects of Website Quality on Advertising Effectiveness
Abstract: Programmatic advertising is prevalent in online advertising. However, it offers managers limited control over the type of website where the ad appears, resulting in brand safety issues. Aware of the risk that ads may potentially display on websites of poor quality (nonpremium websites), managers have developed strategies to reduce this risk. Due to the lack of empirical insights, these strategies are based on “gut feeling” and depend on campaign type (branding versus performance) and brand type (premium versus nonpremium). Our research addresses this void and analyzes website quality effects for premium and nonpremium brands in branding and performance campaigns. Our results show that effects, indeed, vary depending on campaign and brand type, but not in ways that managers might expect. When a branding ad appears on a nonpremium website, attitudes towards the ad and the brand deteriorate, but only for premium brands. In contrast, website quality does not affect awareness for either type of brand. When a performance ad appears on a nonpremium website, it generates fewer clicks; this effect is stronger for premium brands. Overall, these findings enrich our understanding of the consequences of programmatic advertising and highlight the crucial role of website quality dependent on campaign goal and brand type.
Abstract: Programmatic advertising is prevalent in online advertising. However, it offers managers limited control over the type of website where the ad appears, resulting in brand safety issues. Aware of the risk that ads may potentially display on websites of poor quality (nonpremium websites), managers have developed strategies to reduce this risk. Due to the lack of empirical insights, these strategies are based on “gut feeling” and depend on campaign type (branding versus performance) and brand type (premium versus nonpremium). Our research addresses this void and analyzes website quality effects for premium and nonpremium brands in branding and performance campaigns. Our results show that effects, indeed, vary depending on campaign and brand type, but not in ways that managers might expect. When a branding ad appears on a nonpremium website, attitudes towards the ad and the brand deteriorate, but only for premium brands. In contrast, website quality does not affect awareness for either type of brand. When a performance ad appears on a nonpremium website, it generates fewer clicks; this effect is stronger for premium brands. Overall, these findings enrich our understanding of the consequences of programmatic advertising and highlight the crucial role of website quality dependent on campaign goal and brand type.
Journal: International Journal of Research in Marketing
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Edlira Shehu
A Research Agenda for Studying Project Decision-behaviour through the Lenses of Simple Heuristics
Abstract: Management practitioners often preconsciously rely on simple heuristics when approaching ill-structured decision problems. Simple heuristic research suggests that those simple cognitive strategies do not only constitute a fast mode of deliberation but may also be effective. Nonetheless, empirical research using simple heuristics as a theory of managerial or organisational cognition remains sparse. To stimulate empirical research, we propose concrete avenues for research, starting with the empirical problems and then considering how simple heuristics can be used as a lens to address these issues. We illustrate our argument by focusing on empirical problems involved in project decisions. Specifically, we discuss three problems that both pose a challenge and offer an opportunity for simple heuristic research: decision (or problem) framing, acquisition and use of unstructured information, and identification of options. We discuss these challenges along two views: the use of heuristics through the practitioner and the development of heuristics in the context of the organisational environment. Our article contributes to the research on project decision making through concrete guidance for designing empirically relevant research within the simple heuristic paradigm, as well as to the simple heuristic community by extending the research into novel empirical problems and methodological approaches.
Abstract: Management practitioners often preconsciously rely on simple heuristics when approaching ill-structured decision problems. Simple heuristic research suggests that those simple cognitive strategies do not only constitute a fast mode of deliberation but may also be effective. Nonetheless, empirical research using simple heuristics as a theory of managerial or organisational cognition remains sparse. To stimulate empirical research, we propose concrete avenues for research, starting with the empirical problems and then considering how simple heuristics can be used as a lens to address these issues. We illustrate our argument by focusing on empirical problems involved in project decisions. Specifically, we discuss three problems that both pose a challenge and offer an opportunity for simple heuristic research: decision (or problem) framing, acquisition and use of unstructured information, and identification of options. We discuss these challenges along two views: the use of heuristics through the practitioner and the development of heuristics in the context of the organisational environment. Our article contributes to the research on project decision making through concrete guidance for designing empirically relevant research within the simple heuristic paradigm, as well as to the simple heuristic community by extending the research into novel empirical problems and methodological approaches.
Journal: Technological Forecasting and Social Change
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Joana Geraldi
Aktieägare och valberedningar
Abstract: This article considers shareholder-based nomination committees as a unique feature of the Nordic corporate governance model. Shareholder-based nomination committees constitute the standard model in Sweden and Norway since the publication of each country's first national corporate governance code in 2004. The same model has been implemented in the national codes for Iceland (2009) and Finland (formally 2015 although it was possible to appoint a shareholder-based committee already before). An ongoing study now provides some insights on the effects of this model.
The article serves three purposes. First, it summarizes the development of shareholder-based nomination committees as a standard principle in Nordic corporate governance codes. Send, it explains and compares the most recent guidelines with focus on differences between the Nordic countries. Third, it reviews the ongoing study with regards to research questions and results. Finally, the implications for the Nordic debate are discussed.
Abstract: This article considers shareholder-based nomination committees as a unique feature of the Nordic corporate governance model. Shareholder-based nomination committees constitute the standard model in Sweden and Norway since the publication of each country's first national corporate governance code in 2004. The same model has been implemented in the national codes for Iceland (2009) and Finland (formally 2015 although it was possible to appoint a shareholder-based committee already before). An ongoing study now provides some insights on the effects of this model.
The article serves three purposes. First, it summarizes the development of shareholder-based nomination committees as a standard principle in Nordic corporate governance codes. Send, it explains and compares the most recent guidelines with focus on differences between the Nordic countries. Third, it reviews the ongoing study with regards to research questions and results. Finally, the implications for the Nordic debate are discussed.
Journal: Nordisk Tidsskrift for Selskabsret
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Therese Strand
Active, Reactive, and Proactive Approaches to Corporate Volunteering in Three Countries
Abstract: This article explores discursive constructions of corporate volunteering (CV) across three countries. Based on the analysis of 29 qualitative interviews with employees working in small and medium size companies in Denmark, Slovenia, and the United States, we explore distinct discursive features of the embedded nature of CV in the broader context of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The findings reveal that different orientations to CSR inform and shape the ways participants working in the three countries construct CV as active, reactive, or proactive corporate practice. This study aids in understanding of the cross-cultural distinctiveness of discourses that pertain to CV from an employee perspective, while also challenging the common notion of CV as an aspect of strategic CSR
Abstract: This article explores discursive constructions of corporate volunteering (CV) across three countries. Based on the analysis of 29 qualitative interviews with employees working in small and medium size companies in Denmark, Slovenia, and the United States, we explore distinct discursive features of the embedded nature of CV in the broader context of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The findings reveal that different orientations to CSR inform and shape the ways participants working in the three countries construct CV as active, reactive, or proactive corporate practice. This study aids in understanding of the cross-cultural distinctiveness of discourses that pertain to CV from an employee perspective, while also challenging the common notion of CV as an aspect of strategic CSR
Journal: International Journal of Business Communication
Published: April 2018
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Contact CBS researcher: Neva Štumberger
The Covid-19 Pandemic: Paths for Future Research in Marketing Involving the Regulatory Role of Prosocial Consumption
Abstract: Objective: One of the strategies adopted by several countries (i.e. China, United States, Brazil) for containing the pandemic is to recommend the adoption of social distancing. This type of situation can generate negative emotions, such as fear and anxiety, which might affect the well-being, hope and consumption behavior of individuals. The present work aims, therefore, to propose that prosocial consumption could help reduce the negative emotional effects caused by social distancing.
Method: The study is a combination of a literature review and the development of a theoretical conceptual model that identifies gaps and presents research proposals that can guide future studies.
Originality: Existing literature characterizes prosocial consumption as a consequence of positive emotions. This paper aims to explain how prosocial consumption can generate well-being even in situations in which negative emotional states are being experienced.
Contributions: The theoretical conceptual model developed by this study explains the role of prosocial consumption as a behavior that reduces the negative effects of the negative emotions caused by social distancing and promotes well-being during the COVID-19 crisis. Understanding these mechanisms is beneficial to consumers, to the public sector and to the private sector, which can adopt strategies for fostering prosocial behavior and increasing well-being, but also for increasing sales and enhancing brand equity.
Abstract: Objective: One of the strategies adopted by several countries (i.e. China, United States, Brazil) for containing the pandemic is to recommend the adoption of social distancing. This type of situation can generate negative emotions, such as fear and anxiety, which might affect the well-being, hope and consumption behavior of individuals. The present work aims, therefore, to propose that prosocial consumption could help reduce the negative emotional effects caused by social distancing.
Method: The study is a combination of a literature review and the development of a theoretical conceptual model that identifies gaps and presents research proposals that can guide future studies.
Originality: Existing literature characterizes prosocial consumption as a consequence of positive emotions. This paper aims to explain how prosocial consumption can generate well-being even in situations in which negative emotional states are being experienced.
Contributions: The theoretical conceptual model developed by this study explains the role of prosocial consumption as a behavior that reduces the negative effects of the negative emotions caused by social distancing and promotes well-being during the COVID-19 crisis. Understanding these mechanisms is beneficial to consumers, to the public sector and to the private sector, which can adopt strategies for fostering prosocial behavior and increasing well-being, but also for increasing sales and enhancing brand equity.
Journal: Revista Brasileira de Marketing
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Leticia Vedolin
Why Reason, Why Now?
Abstract: Pending
Abstract: Pending
Journal: Academy of Management Learning and Education
Published: September 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Morten S. Thaning, Robin Holt
Researching Digital Entrepreneurship: Current Issues and Suggestions for Future Directions.
Abstract: This report documents the outcomes of a professional development workshop (PDW) held at the 40th International Conference on Information Systems in Munich, Germany. The workshop’s goal was to identify how information systems (IS) researchers can contribute to enriching the understanding of digital entrepreneurship—that is, the intersection of digital technologies and entrepreneurship. The PDW assembled numerous IS researchers working on different aspects of digital entrepreneurship. Jointly, we delineated digital entrepreneurship from related phenomena and conceptualized different roles of digital technologies for entrepreneurial endeavors. We also identified relevant strategies, opportunities, and challenges in conducting digital entrepreneurship research. This report summarizes the shared views that emerged from the interactions at the PDW and during the collaborative writing of this report. The report provides IS researchers interested in digital entrepreneurship with food for thought and a foundation for future research.
Abstract: This report documents the outcomes of a professional development workshop (PDW) held at the 40th International Conference on Information Systems in Munich, Germany. The workshop’s goal was to identify how information systems (IS) researchers can contribute to enriching the understanding of digital entrepreneurship—that is, the intersection of digital technologies and entrepreneurship. The PDW assembled numerous IS researchers working on different aspects of digital entrepreneurship. Jointly, we delineated digital entrepreneurship from related phenomena and conceptualized different roles of digital technologies for entrepreneurial endeavors. We also identified relevant strategies, opportunities, and challenges in conducting digital entrepreneurship research. This report summarizes the shared views that emerged from the interactions at the PDW and during the collaborative writing of this report. The report provides IS researchers interested in digital entrepreneurship with food for thought and a foundation for future research.
Journal: Communications of the Association for Information Systems
Published: July 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Philipp Hukal, Daniel Fürstenau
An Outline for an Integrated Language-sensitive Approach to Global Work and Mobility: Cross-fertilising Expatriate and International Business and Management Research
Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this conceptual literature review is to investigate how language factors have been studied in the expatriate literature, and how cross-fertilisation with the broader language-sensitive international business and management field may facilitate integrated research of language in global work.
Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on a thematic review of expatriate research and international business and management literature. The findings are structured through Reiche et al.'s (2019) three-dimensional conceptualisation of global work, after which two frameworks are developed to conceptualise how language connects the three dimensions – actors, structures and processes.
Findings: The literature review demonstrates that language-related topics are yet to gain status in the expatriate tradition, and the majority of studies, which do consider linguistic factors appear largely dissociated from the growing community of language research in the broader international management and international business fields. However, once consolidated, the literature reveals that language is present in all dimensions of global work. A processual view of corporate language management highlights the central role of human resource management (HRM), while a dynamic multi-level perspective indicates that language may form bidirectional relationships between the three dimensions of global work.
Originality/value: Due to the segmentation between language-sensitive research in the expatriate and international business/management traditions, few studies have considered the HRM implications of global mobility and the multifaceted nature of language at work. This conceptual literature review brings both perspectives together for a more contextualised and holistic view of language in international workforces.
Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this conceptual literature review is to investigate how language factors have been studied in the expatriate literature, and how cross-fertilisation with the broader language-sensitive international business and management field may facilitate integrated research of language in global work.
Design/methodology/approach: This paper is based on a thematic review of expatriate research and international business and management literature. The findings are structured through Reiche et al.'s (2019) three-dimensional conceptualisation of global work, after which two frameworks are developed to conceptualise how language connects the three dimensions – actors, structures and processes.
Findings: The literature review demonstrates that language-related topics are yet to gain status in the expatriate tradition, and the majority of studies, which do consider linguistic factors appear largely dissociated from the growing community of language research in the broader international management and international business fields. However, once consolidated, the literature reveals that language is present in all dimensions of global work. A processual view of corporate language management highlights the central role of human resource management (HRM), while a dynamic multi-level perspective indicates that language may form bidirectional relationships between the three dimensions of global work.
Originality/value: Due to the segmentation between language-sensitive research in the expatriate and international business/management traditions, few studies have considered the HRM implications of global mobility and the multifaceted nature of language at work. This conceptual literature review brings both perspectives together for a more contextualised and holistic view of language in international workforces.
Journal: Journal of Global Mobility
Published: 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Ivan Olav Vulchanov
Hvem er cybereksperten? Ekspertise og professioner i cybersikkerhedsfeltet.
Abstract: Cybersecurity experts play an important role in identifying and managing digital risks. This article employs insights from the sociology of professions and the sociology of expertise to highlight competing epistemic rationalities in the constitution of cyber risk. Drawing on a novel dataset of expert profiles in public and private Danish cybersecurity expert groups and committees, it is argued that the profile of cybersecurity experts has moved away from a purely technical focus to a process orientation which is both broader in scope and closer to the decision-making level. The new expert profile is positioned at the inter-section of technical, organizational and economic rationality. In the absence of public scrutiny, this development could reinforce expert power and undermine democratic practices. It offers, how-ever, also an opportunity to re-politicize the public cybersecurity discourse.
Abstract: Cybersecurity experts play an important role in identifying and managing digital risks. This article employs insights from the sociology of professions and the sociology of expertise to highlight competing epistemic rationalities in the constitution of cyber risk. Drawing on a novel dataset of expert profiles in public and private Danish cybersecurity expert groups and committees, it is argued that the profile of cybersecurity experts has moved away from a purely technical focus to a process orientation which is both broader in scope and closer to the decision-making level. The new expert profile is positioned at the inter-section of technical, organizational and economic rationality. In the absence of public scrutiny, this development could reinforce expert power and undermine democratic practices. It offers, how-ever, also an opportunity to re-politicize the public cybersecurity discourse.
Journal: Økonomi og Politik
Published: October 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Johann Ole Willers
Surprisingly Stable: An Experiment on Willingness to Bear Uncertainty in Individuals with and without Entrepreneurial Intentions
Abstract: Purpose: Entrepreneurs are often considered to be more willing to bear and manage uncertainty than non-entrepreneurs. However, the available empirical evidence regarding this topic is limited and mixed. By adopting an experimental design, the paper’s purpose is to shed light on a causal mechanism behind decision making under uncertainty.
Design/methodology/approach: This paper outlines the performance of a quasi-laboratory experiment that investigates whether a lack of predictive information affects individuals with entrepreneurial intentions in their likelihood to choose uncertainty vis-à-vis certainty. Drawing on prospect theory, it is argued that individuals with entrepreneurial intentions are less sensitive than individuals without entrepreneurial intentions due to a framing effect that occurs when information about probabilities is manipulated. In particular, it is argued that individuals with entrepreneurial intentions are more likely than their comparable counterparts to choose consistently among monetary opportunities that share everything in common but information about probabilities of success.
Findings: This study finds support for the argument, as individuals with entrepreneurial intentions have preferences pertaining to uncertainty that are more stable compared to those of individuals without such intentions. The results hold after controlling for a number of alternative explanations, including status quo bias, prior gain effect and degree of risk effect.
Originality/value: The paper tackles a fundamental issue in entrepreneurship—namely behavior under uncertainty—by adopting a novel approach. In particular, an experimental design is used to test for causality between availability of information and choices involving monetary rewards. Results have implications for the understanding of factors that guide entrepreneurial choices under uncertainty and, ultimately, entrepreneurial action.
Abstract: Purpose: Entrepreneurs are often considered to be more willing to bear and manage uncertainty than non-entrepreneurs. However, the available empirical evidence regarding this topic is limited and mixed. By adopting an experimental design, the paper’s purpose is to shed light on a causal mechanism behind decision making under uncertainty.
Design/methodology/approach: This paper outlines the performance of a quasi-laboratory experiment that investigates whether a lack of predictive information affects individuals with entrepreneurial intentions in their likelihood to choose uncertainty vis-à-vis certainty. Drawing on prospect theory, it is argued that individuals with entrepreneurial intentions are less sensitive than individuals without entrepreneurial intentions due to a framing effect that occurs when information about probabilities is manipulated. In particular, it is argued that individuals with entrepreneurial intentions are more likely than their comparable counterparts to choose consistently among monetary opportunities that share everything in common but information about probabilities of success.
Findings: This study finds support for the argument, as individuals with entrepreneurial intentions have preferences pertaining to uncertainty that are more stable compared to those of individuals without such intentions. The results hold after controlling for a number of alternative explanations, including status quo bias, prior gain effect and degree of risk effect.
Originality/value: The paper tackles a fundamental issue in entrepreneurship—namely behavior under uncertainty—by adopting a novel approach. In particular, an experimental design is used to test for causality between availability of information and choices involving monetary rewards. Results have implications for the understanding of factors that guide entrepreneurial choices under uncertainty and, ultimately, entrepreneurial action.
Journal: Journal of Management Development
Published: August 2020
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Contact CBS researcher: Giulio Zichella
The page was last edited by: Sekretariat for Ledelse og Kommunikation // 12/16/2020