Foreign direct investment and the stages of sector diversification

Foreign direct investment (FDI), when considered homogenous, has case-specific result on sector diversification. However, FDI when disaggregated by its type, market-seeking FDI diversifies developed countries, while efficiency-seeking FDI diversifies developing countries, particularly in the manufacturing sector. Flexible labour markets and well-established financial markets also play important role in this context.

Reproductive investment and optimum clutch size of Loggerhead Sea Turtles (Caretta caretta)

(1) Data for loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta L.) nesting on the Greek island of Cephalonia were used to develop a model which predicted the optimum clutch size. (2) There was a positive linear relationship between the number of clutches into which eggs could be divided and the total time spent by a nesting turtle on the beach, and hence a negative relationship between the time invested on the beach per egg and clutch size. (3) A previous study indicated that energy expenditure for nesting turtles on land is very high, so there may be a selective pressure to maximize clutch size in order to minimize the energy expended per egg laid. As there appeared to be no counterselective pressures favouring small clutches, clutch size should be constrained by a female's egg-carryingc apacity,w hich in turn could be expected to be related to her body size. Hence, a positive relationship between clutch size and body size was predicted, and was found in the population under study.

Optimal effort investment for overcoming the weakest point: new insights from a computational model of neuromuscular adaptation

The occurrence of so-called sticking points in a lift is pervasive in weight training practice. Biomechanically complex exercises often exhibit multi modal variation of effective force exerted against the load as a function of the elevation and velocity of the load. This results in a variety of possible loci for the occurrence of sticking points and makes the problem of designing the optimal training strategy to overcome them challenging. In this article a case founded on theoretical grounds is made against a purely empirical method. It is argued that the nature of the problem considered and the wide range of variables involved limit the generality of conclusions which can be drawn from experimental studies alone. Instead an alternative is described, whereby a recently proposed mathematical model of neuromuscular adaptation is employed in a series of computer simulations. These are used to examine quantitatively the effects of differently targeted partial range of motion (ROM) training approaches. Counter-intuitively and in contrast to common training practices, the key novel insight inferred from the obtained results is that in some cases the most effective approach for improving performance in an exercise with a sticking point at a particular point in the ROM is to improve force production capability at a different and possibly remote position in the lift. In the context of the employed model, this result is explained by changes in the neuromuscular and biomechanical environment for force production.

Customer-owned banking in Australia: from credit union to mutual bank

Since the 1990s financial sector regulation in Australia has treated credit unions and building societies the same as banks under the designated title of authorized depository institutions. This allows credit unions to choose between different organizational structures: cooperative; convert to customer-owned banks or to demutualize. This article utilizes semi-structured interviews to analyse the key motivations for organizational change. It examines a number of credit unions and their conversion experience to customer-owned banks. It finds that adaptation of the credit union model was necessary to change customer perceptions, ensure future growth in the customer base and assets, and facilitate access to capital raisings with the credit rating of a bank. Despite this change customer-owned banks retain the core principals of mutuality.

Localized learning by emerging multinational enterprises in developed host countries: a fuzzy-set analysis of Chinese foreign direct investment in Australia

Firms learn general international management and foreign market specific knowledge in their internationalization process. Firms' strategic emphasis on generalized vs. localized learning is an important yet underexplored issue in the extant literature. Drawing on the theoretical framework of dynamic capability, and in the context of emerging multinational enterprises' FDI into developed host countries, this study examines the equifinal process-position-path configurations of firms that will motivate them to engage in localized learning (as opposed to generalized learning). Utilizing primary and secondary data of eleven Chinese foreign direct investments in Australia, collected at both headquarters and subsidiary levels, we conducted fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) that provided substantial support to our propositions. This study contributes to the internationalization process model by identifying equifinal process-position-path configurations, as well as their core and peripheral conditions that motivate localized learning at both the headquarters and the subsidiary levels.