Expectations and Management of Technology-Assisted Supplemental Work: A Managerial Perspective
Limitless connectivity enabled by Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) has aided organisations to keep their employees linked to work even after hours. Drawing from work boundary theory and sociomaterial theory, this study explores what leads to technology-assisted supplemental work (TASW) expectations and how these expectations are managed in organisations. In the analysis of qualitative data collected from 20 senior-level managers from two organisations in Sri Lanka, we found that organisational norms developed through top management influence led to TASW expectations among lower-level managers. These expectations are then imposed by managers, and nonresponses are controlled by means of confrontations and punishments. These punitive regimes could especially create discriminative effects on married female employees if they cannot meet the after-hour expectations due to gender roles associated with the home domain. However, having formal policy guidelines on TASW could reduce the negative consequences on employees. This study contributes to the literature by including the managerial perspective on TASW expectations.
The Management of Socio‐Political Issues and Environments: Toward a Research Agenda for Corporate Socio‐Political Engagement
Abstract
Socio-political issues and environments are becoming more complex and challenging. In this introduction to the special issue on ‘The Management of Socio-Political Issues and Environments: Organizational and Strategic Perspectives’, we take stock of the burgeoning research on how firms interact with socio-political actors and environments over the last few decades, specifically research on Corporate Political Activity and Corporate Social Responsibility. We then argue that the socio-political environments and actors with which firms interact are in a state of flux, such that issues are more interrelated and dynamic, and actors are more diverse and demanding. As such, we propose a new concept of corporate socio-political engagement (CSPE), which represents a more holistic perspective to understanding complex interactions among firms and their social/political stakeholders, incorporating and transcending conventional notions and tactics documented in the extant nonmarket strategy literature. Using a two-dimensional framework that captures the identity of socio-political actor or the nature of socio-political issues (political, social, or both) as well as the relevant level of analysis at which the interactions unfold, we showcase the contributions of the special issue articles to this research agenda. Finally, we discuss and specify future research directions for revealing the multifaceted nature of CSPE.
Corporate Governance Reforms and Analyst Forecasts: International Evidence
In this study, we examine the effect of worldwide corporate governance reforms on analyst forecasts using data on firms from 41 countries that have implemented such reforms. Employing a difference-in-differences design, we find robust evidence of a significant positive effect of these reforms, which mainly promote the independence of the audit committee and auditors, on analyst forecast accuracy. We also find significant improvements in post-reform corporate governance structure and the quantity and quality of corporate disclosure, which validates the predicted economic mechanism of the impact of these reforms. Moreover, the reforms are effective in reducing analyst forecast bias and dispersion, suggesting an overall improvement in analyst forecast quality after reform implementation. Furthermore, we find a moderating effect of analyst general experience on the relationship of interest, which is consistent with the conjecture that improved corporate disclosures following reforms could be more beneficial for analysts with less experience. Overall, our findings shed new insights into how country-level corporate governance reforms worldwide shape firms’ information environment.
Optimal portfolio choice of couples with tax-deferred accounts and survival-contingent products
Unlocking the dual impact: Human capital’s influence on mean and variability in new venture performance
Existing studies of new venture founders’ human capital (e.g. industry work experience, past venture experience, and education) reveal its impact on the expected mean of firm performance, largely neglecting its possible nontrivial effect on performance variability. This study is an attempt to fill this gap. By drawing on the insights of the behavioral theory of the firm, we argue that the aspirations bred by the founders’ human capital are associated with new venture performance variability. Using a multiplicative heteroscedasticity regression model, we find that work experience increases performance variability without increasing the performance mean. In contrast, past venture experience positively affects the firm's mean performance without affecting variability. Education increases performance variability while decreasing the performance mean. We also find that having patents and venture capital funding affects both the mean and the performance variability, albeit in opposite directions.
Rani Kamplapati (Habibganj) Railway Station Redevelopment: A World-Class Dream Coming True
Entrepreneurship-driven Migratory Behaviour Among the Tea Estate Workers in West Bengal: An Exploratory Study
Media Treatment of Monetary Policy Surprises and Their Impact on Firms’ and Consumers’ Expectations
Abstract
We investigate whether monetary policy announcements affect firms' and consumers' expectations by considering their media treatment. We initially use standard monetary policy surprise measures and analyze how the main general newspapers in France report on the announcements. Eighty-five percent of the monetary policy surprises are either not associated with the newspapers reporting a change in the monetary policy stance or have a sign inconsistent with the media report. Only when we consider media-consistent monetary policy surprises do we find that consumers and firms respond to monetary policy announcements. The economic tonality of the media reports drives the sign of consumers' response.
Real Interest Rates and Population Growth across Generations*
Abstract
This paper empirically examines the correlation between population growth and real interest rates. Although this correlation is well founded in macroeconomic theory, the corresponding empirical results have been rather tenuous. Demographic interest rate theories are typically based on long-term relationships across generations. Accordingly, key population trends appear often only across decades, if not centuries, worth of data. To capture these trends, we distinguish between population growth resulting from a birth surplus and net migration. Within a panel covering 12 countries and the years since 1820, we find robust evidence that the birth surplus is significantly correlated with the real interest rate.