Deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) are legal means, alternative to trial, for the resolution ... more Deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) are legal means, alternative to trial, for the resolution of criminal business cases. Although DPAs are increasingly used in the US and are spreading to other jurisdictions, the ethics of DPAs has hardly been subjected to critical scrutiny. We use a multidisciplinary approach straddling the line between philosophy and law to examine the ethics of DPAs used to resolve cases of multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) foreign corruption. Deontologically, we argue that the normativity of DPAs raises critical concerns related to the notion of justice as punishment, with serious cases of international corruption resolved with minimal retribution for offending MNEs. Taking a utilitarian ethical perspective, we also evaluate the effect of DPAs on MNEs’ tendency to self-regulate or re-offend. Our conclusion, supported by critical analysis of the juridical literature and case evidence on MNEs’ recidivism, is that DPAs do not foster ethical behavior.
Using unique archival evidence on the evolution of the Paralympic movement from the mid-1940s to ... more Using unique archival evidence on the evolution of the Paralympic movement from the mid-1940s to 1989, this paper advances our understanding of how new organizational forms emerge. Our historical narrative identifies a shift from the Games born out of a medically based and rehabilitative cultural ethos to a sport-performance centered, corporate model embodied in the establishment of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in 1989. We show how the interactions between boundary and practice work enabled and, at times, ‘dis-abled’ the creation of the IPC. Heeding calls to refocus on how institutional change affects, or is affected by, power and inequality, we contribute to business history mainly by unveiling the collective struggle that led to the demise of a normative system of disability sport built upon the legitimacy of medical values and knowledge, and how evolving norms underpinning the way disabled people are viewed within society have influenced this process of change.
Purpose-This study empirically examines the moderating role of geopolitical risk on the tourism-e... more Purpose-This study empirically examines the moderating role of geopolitical risk on the tourism-economic growth nexus by applying a recent geopolitical risk indicator developed by Caldara and Iacoviello (2022) in a crosscountry panel data growth model context for a sample of 24 countries. Design/methodology/approach-A Dummy Variable Least Squares (DVLS) panel data model, nonparametric covariance matrix estimator and SYS-GMM estimation techniques are employed for the analysis. We capture the GPR moderating effect by disaggregating the crosscountry sample according to low vs. high country GPR score and through a GPR interaction coefficient. Several controls are included in our models such as gross fixed capital formation and-consistent with Barro (1990)-government consumption. Trade openness is 2 used to account for the export-led growth effect. In line with neoclassical growth theory (e.g., Barro, 1991) we also include the real interest rate, to account for policy makers' commitment to macroeconomic stability, financial depth, as a proxy for financial development, population growth, and the level of secondary school education. We also control for unobserved countryspecific and time-invariant effects. Findings-The research finds that the interaction term of geopolitical risk significantly contributes to the predictive ability of the regression and provides empirical evidence that confirms that only in low geopolitical risk countries international tourism positively and significantly contributes to economic growth. Important theoretical and policy implications flow from these findings. Originality/value-The study not only contributes to advancing academic knowledge on the tourism-growth nexus, it also has impact beyond academia. Many countries have in the past pursued, and many continue to pursue, tourism specialization and/or tourism-led growth strategies based on the theoretically well-established and empirically validated positive link between inbound tourism and economic growth. Our findings alert policy makers in such countries to the significant moderating role that geopolitical risk plays in affecting the abovementioned relationship and to the importance of prioritizing geopolitical stability as a policy precursor for the successful implementation of such strategies.
Despite a longstanding debate around the economic effects of fiscal consolidation policies, relat... more Despite a longstanding debate around the economic effects of fiscal consolidation policies, relatively few studies have focused on developing countries, and even fewer have paid attention to the growth implications at firm level. Using a unique narrative dataset based on contemporaneous policy documents to identify changes in fiscal policy aimed at reducing the accumulation of public debt, we investigate the effects of fiscal consolidation on the growth of 118,279 firms in 98 developing countries from 2006 to 2018. The results indicate that a one percentage point increase in fiscal consolidation as a share of GDP leads, on average, to a decline in firm growth of 3.97 percentage points. This decline is reduced when consolidation is large. We also find that debt-driven consolidation based on tax hikes is more contractionary than that based on spending cuts, though this contractionary effect is mitigated when spending cuts exceed 1.5 percent of GDP. While the negative effect of fiscal consolidation on firm performance is more pronounced in large and non-exporting firms, the effect is not statistically important in low-debt-risk developing countries.
Using a sample of commercial bank-year observations covering 104 countries over the 1999-2017 per... more Using a sample of commercial bank-year observations covering 104 countries over the 1999-2017 period, we consider five contemporary de jure and de facto indicators of financial liberalization to provide a comparative assessment of their impact on bank cost efficiency. With the sole exception of one de jure index, all other financial liberalization measures consistently indicate an improvement in cost efficiency. We also compare the effects before and after the 2007 global financial crisis, which instigated a policy shift from deregulation to prudential re-regulation. We find that prudential re-regulation did not detrimentally affect bank cost efficiency. Our results for the main financial liberalization measures hold irrespective of countries' stage of economic development and prove robust to re-estimations based on a single-country efficiency frontier for the US, alternative model specifications and methodologies that account for endogeneity and cross section dependence. The key policy implication from our findings is that prudential policies aimed at fostering stability and less bank risk-taking, can be pursued without any risks of hindering financial intermediation and lowering bank cost efficiency.
Deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) are legal means, alternative to trial, for the resolution ... more Deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) are legal means, alternative to trial, for the resolution of criminal business cases. Although DPAs are increasingly used in the US and are spreading to other jurisdictions, the ethics of DPAs has hardly been subjected to critical scrutiny. We use a multidisciplinary approach straddling the line between philosophy and law to examine the ethics of DPAs used to resolve cases of multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) foreign corruption. Deontologically, we argue that the normativity of DPAs raises critical concerns related to the notion of justice as punishment, with serious cases of international corruption resolved with minimal retribution for offending MNEs. Taking a utilitarian ethical perspective, we also evaluate the effect of DPAs on MNEs’ tendency to self-regulate or re-offend. Our conclusion, supported by critical analysis of the juridical literature and case evidence on MNEs’ recidivism, is that DPAs do not foster ethical behavior.
Using unique archival evidence on the evolution of the Paralympic movement from the mid-1940s to ... more Using unique archival evidence on the evolution of the Paralympic movement from the mid-1940s to 1989, this paper advances our understanding of how new organizational forms emerge. Our historical narrative identifies a shift from the Games born out of a medically based and rehabilitative cultural ethos to a sport-performance centered, corporate model embodied in the establishment of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in 1989. We show how the interactions between boundary and practice work enabled and, at times, ‘dis-abled’ the creation of the IPC. Heeding calls to refocus on how institutional change affects, or is affected by, power and inequality, we contribute to business history mainly by unveiling the collective struggle that led to the demise of a normative system of disability sport built upon the legitimacy of medical values and knowledge, and how evolving norms underpinning the way disabled people are viewed within society have influenced this process of change.
Debate about the defining features of 'doctorateness' or what examiners look for in a PhD thesis ... more Debate about the defining features of 'doctorateness' or what examiners look for in a PhD thesis is ongoing , but hardly any attention has been paid in related literature to Postgraduate Researchers' (PGRs) perceptions of the key attributes that make a PhD thesis excellent. In this study we examine the state of play of the former to then go on to investigate the latter. We begin by developing a synthesis of the conventional wisdom on the key
Purpose-This study empirically examines the moderating role of geopolitical risk on the tourism-e... more Purpose-This study empirically examines the moderating role of geopolitical risk on the tourism-economic growth nexus by applying a recent geopolitical risk indicator developed by Caldara and Iacoviello (2022) in a crosscountry panel data growth model context for a sample of 24 countries. Design/methodology/approach-A Dummy Variable Least Squares (DVLS) panel data model, nonparametric covariance matrix estimator and SYS-GMM estimation techniques are employed for the analysis. We capture the GPR moderating effect by disaggregating the crosscountry sample according to low vs. high country GPR score and through a GPR interaction coefficient. Several controls are included in our models such as gross fixed capital formation and-consistent with Barro (1990)-government consumption. Trade openness is 2 used to account for the export-led growth effect. In line with neoclassical growth theory (e.g., Barro, 1991) we also include the real interest rate, to account for policy makers' commitment to macroeconomic stability, financial depth, as a proxy for financial development, population growth, and the level of secondary school education. We also control for unobserved countryspecific and time-invariant effects. Findings-The research finds that the interaction term of geopolitical risk significantly contributes to the predictive ability of the regression and provides empirical evidence that confirms that only in low geopolitical risk countries international tourism positively and significantly contributes to economic growth. Important theoretical and policy implications flow from these findings. Originality/value-The study not only contributes to advancing academic knowledge on the tourism-growth nexus, it also has impact beyond academia. Many countries have in the past pursued, and many continue to pursue, tourism specialization and/or tourism-led growth strategies based on the theoretically well-established and empirically validated positive link between inbound tourism and economic growth. Our findings alert policy makers in such countries to the significant moderating role that geopolitical risk plays in affecting the abovementioned relationship and to the importance of prioritizing geopolitical stability as a policy precursor for the successful implementation of such strategies.
Deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) are legal means, alternative to trial, for the resolution ... more Deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) are legal means, alternative to trial, for the resolution of criminal business cases. Although DPAs are increasingly used in the US and are spreading to other jurisdictions, the ethics of DPAs has hardly been subjected to critical scrutiny. We use a multidisciplinary approach straddling the line between philosophy and law to examine the ethics of DPAs used to resolve cases of multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) foreign corruption. Deontologically, we argue that the normativity of DPAs raises critical concerns related to the notion of justice as punishment, with serious cases of international corruption resolved with minimal retribution for offending MNEs. Taking a utilitarian ethical perspective, we also evaluate the effect of DPAs on MNEs’ tendency to self-regulate or re-offend. Our conclusion, supported by critical analysis of the juridical literature and case evidence on MNEs’ recidivism, is that DPAs do not foster ethical behavior.
Using unique archival evidence on the evolution of the Paralympic movement from the mid-1940s to ... more Using unique archival evidence on the evolution of the Paralympic movement from the mid-1940s to 1989, this paper advances our understanding of how new organizational forms emerge. Our historical narrative identifies a shift from the Games born out of a medically based and rehabilitative cultural ethos to a sport-performance centered, corporate model embodied in the establishment of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in 1989. We show how the interactions between boundary and practice work enabled and, at times, ‘dis-abled’ the creation of the IPC. Heeding calls to refocus on how institutional change affects, or is affected by, power and inequality, we contribute to business history mainly by unveiling the collective struggle that led to the demise of a normative system of disability sport built upon the legitimacy of medical values and knowledge, and how evolving norms underpinning the way disabled people are viewed within society have influenced this process of change.
Purpose-This study empirically examines the moderating role of geopolitical risk on the tourism-e... more Purpose-This study empirically examines the moderating role of geopolitical risk on the tourism-economic growth nexus by applying a recent geopolitical risk indicator developed by Caldara and Iacoviello (2022) in a crosscountry panel data growth model context for a sample of 24 countries. Design/methodology/approach-A Dummy Variable Least Squares (DVLS) panel data model, nonparametric covariance matrix estimator and SYS-GMM estimation techniques are employed for the analysis. We capture the GPR moderating effect by disaggregating the crosscountry sample according to low vs. high country GPR score and through a GPR interaction coefficient. Several controls are included in our models such as gross fixed capital formation and-consistent with Barro (1990)-government consumption. Trade openness is 2 used to account for the export-led growth effect. In line with neoclassical growth theory (e.g., Barro, 1991) we also include the real interest rate, to account for policy makers' commitment to macroeconomic stability, financial depth, as a proxy for financial development, population growth, and the level of secondary school education. We also control for unobserved countryspecific and time-invariant effects. Findings-The research finds that the interaction term of geopolitical risk significantly contributes to the predictive ability of the regression and provides empirical evidence that confirms that only in low geopolitical risk countries international tourism positively and significantly contributes to economic growth. Important theoretical and policy implications flow from these findings. Originality/value-The study not only contributes to advancing academic knowledge on the tourism-growth nexus, it also has impact beyond academia. Many countries have in the past pursued, and many continue to pursue, tourism specialization and/or tourism-led growth strategies based on the theoretically well-established and empirically validated positive link between inbound tourism and economic growth. Our findings alert policy makers in such countries to the significant moderating role that geopolitical risk plays in affecting the abovementioned relationship and to the importance of prioritizing geopolitical stability as a policy precursor for the successful implementation of such strategies.
Despite a longstanding debate around the economic effects of fiscal consolidation policies, relat... more Despite a longstanding debate around the economic effects of fiscal consolidation policies, relatively few studies have focused on developing countries, and even fewer have paid attention to the growth implications at firm level. Using a unique narrative dataset based on contemporaneous policy documents to identify changes in fiscal policy aimed at reducing the accumulation of public debt, we investigate the effects of fiscal consolidation on the growth of 118,279 firms in 98 developing countries from 2006 to 2018. The results indicate that a one percentage point increase in fiscal consolidation as a share of GDP leads, on average, to a decline in firm growth of 3.97 percentage points. This decline is reduced when consolidation is large. We also find that debt-driven consolidation based on tax hikes is more contractionary than that based on spending cuts, though this contractionary effect is mitigated when spending cuts exceed 1.5 percent of GDP. While the negative effect of fiscal consolidation on firm performance is more pronounced in large and non-exporting firms, the effect is not statistically important in low-debt-risk developing countries.
Using a sample of commercial bank-year observations covering 104 countries over the 1999-2017 per... more Using a sample of commercial bank-year observations covering 104 countries over the 1999-2017 period, we consider five contemporary de jure and de facto indicators of financial liberalization to provide a comparative assessment of their impact on bank cost efficiency. With the sole exception of one de jure index, all other financial liberalization measures consistently indicate an improvement in cost efficiency. We also compare the effects before and after the 2007 global financial crisis, which instigated a policy shift from deregulation to prudential re-regulation. We find that prudential re-regulation did not detrimentally affect bank cost efficiency. Our results for the main financial liberalization measures hold irrespective of countries' stage of economic development and prove robust to re-estimations based on a single-country efficiency frontier for the US, alternative model specifications and methodologies that account for endogeneity and cross section dependence. The key policy implication from our findings is that prudential policies aimed at fostering stability and less bank risk-taking, can be pursued without any risks of hindering financial intermediation and lowering bank cost efficiency.
Deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) are legal means, alternative to trial, for the resolution ... more Deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs) are legal means, alternative to trial, for the resolution of criminal business cases. Although DPAs are increasingly used in the US and are spreading to other jurisdictions, the ethics of DPAs has hardly been subjected to critical scrutiny. We use a multidisciplinary approach straddling the line between philosophy and law to examine the ethics of DPAs used to resolve cases of multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) foreign corruption. Deontologically, we argue that the normativity of DPAs raises critical concerns related to the notion of justice as punishment, with serious cases of international corruption resolved with minimal retribution for offending MNEs. Taking a utilitarian ethical perspective, we also evaluate the effect of DPAs on MNEs’ tendency to self-regulate or re-offend. Our conclusion, supported by critical analysis of the juridical literature and case evidence on MNEs’ recidivism, is that DPAs do not foster ethical behavior.
Using unique archival evidence on the evolution of the Paralympic movement from the mid-1940s to ... more Using unique archival evidence on the evolution of the Paralympic movement from the mid-1940s to 1989, this paper advances our understanding of how new organizational forms emerge. Our historical narrative identifies a shift from the Games born out of a medically based and rehabilitative cultural ethos to a sport-performance centered, corporate model embodied in the establishment of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in 1989. We show how the interactions between boundary and practice work enabled and, at times, ‘dis-abled’ the creation of the IPC. Heeding calls to refocus on how institutional change affects, or is affected by, power and inequality, we contribute to business history mainly by unveiling the collective struggle that led to the demise of a normative system of disability sport built upon the legitimacy of medical values and knowledge, and how evolving norms underpinning the way disabled people are viewed within society have influenced this process of change.
Debate about the defining features of 'doctorateness' or what examiners look for in a PhD thesis ... more Debate about the defining features of 'doctorateness' or what examiners look for in a PhD thesis is ongoing , but hardly any attention has been paid in related literature to Postgraduate Researchers' (PGRs) perceptions of the key attributes that make a PhD thesis excellent. In this study we examine the state of play of the former to then go on to investigate the latter. We begin by developing a synthesis of the conventional wisdom on the key
Purpose-This study empirically examines the moderating role of geopolitical risk on the tourism-e... more Purpose-This study empirically examines the moderating role of geopolitical risk on the tourism-economic growth nexus by applying a recent geopolitical risk indicator developed by Caldara and Iacoviello (2022) in a crosscountry panel data growth model context for a sample of 24 countries. Design/methodology/approach-A Dummy Variable Least Squares (DVLS) panel data model, nonparametric covariance matrix estimator and SYS-GMM estimation techniques are employed for the analysis. We capture the GPR moderating effect by disaggregating the crosscountry sample according to low vs. high country GPR score and through a GPR interaction coefficient. Several controls are included in our models such as gross fixed capital formation and-consistent with Barro (1990)-government consumption. Trade openness is 2 used to account for the export-led growth effect. In line with neoclassical growth theory (e.g., Barro, 1991) we also include the real interest rate, to account for policy makers' commitment to macroeconomic stability, financial depth, as a proxy for financial development, population growth, and the level of secondary school education. We also control for unobserved countryspecific and time-invariant effects. Findings-The research finds that the interaction term of geopolitical risk significantly contributes to the predictive ability of the regression and provides empirical evidence that confirms that only in low geopolitical risk countries international tourism positively and significantly contributes to economic growth. Important theoretical and policy implications flow from these findings. Originality/value-The study not only contributes to advancing academic knowledge on the tourism-growth nexus, it also has impact beyond academia. Many countries have in the past pursued, and many continue to pursue, tourism specialization and/or tourism-led growth strategies based on the theoretically well-established and empirically validated positive link between inbound tourism and economic growth. Our findings alert policy makers in such countries to the significant moderating role that geopolitical risk plays in affecting the abovementioned relationship and to the importance of prioritizing geopolitical stability as a policy precursor for the successful implementation of such strategies.
This book provides the most comprehensive roadmap to a successful PhD completion, thus offering a useful guide for aspiring and existing doctoral students in business and management disciplines and the social sciences, 2021
This book provides the most comprehensive roadmap to a successful PhD completion, thus offering a... more This book provides the most comprehensive roadmap to a successful PhD completion, thus offering a useful guide for aspiring and existing doctoral students in business and management disciplines and the social sciences.
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