Top Taiwanese and Turkish companies and their engagement with corporate ethics

The objective of this paper is to describe and compare the current, emerging Taiwanese and Turkish interest in corporate ethical engagement. This paper is based upon a survey amongst the top companies operating in Taiwan and Turkey. There are major differences between the top Taiwanese and Turkish companies, where the Turkish companies appear to be more ethically engaged than the Taiwanese companies which came as a surprise to the researchers as Taiwan is a more substantially developed economy than Turkey and one may have assumed therefore more engaged with ethical practices.

Board structure and firm performance : evidence from India's top 500 companies

The objective of this paper is to investigate the relationship between internal governance structures in Indian companies and financial performance. The
study includes an examination of aspects of the effectiveness of boards of directors', including composition of the board, board size and aspects of board leadership including duality and board busyness.

Jump over the gorge : overcoming cultural gap in doing business with China

China has become a synonym for future business growth. It is the business nirvana of the 21st century (Chung 2004). As a major emerging market, China offers many companies great potential in their future growth. China's economic growth has been consistently double digits for the past two decades. China has become an economic power in the world. To Australia, China became its largest trading partner since 2007. While other parts of the world are experiencing economic down tum, e.g. the US and UK, Australia still enjoys its longest lasting economic growth. Much of the growth is largely built on this Chinese demand of minerals (Kirk 2004). Therefore research of Australian companies' internationalisation into China is timely and in high demand. 40 Australian companies' were investigated in a recent research conducted in July - December 2007. Among many findings through the research, one of the major issues was the impact of cultural differences on companies in their operations. The research discovered the gap of cultural differences between Australia and China is large which has caught many companies by surprise. Further the inability to deal with this large cultural gap as well as being properly prepared for the cultural issue they are about to encounter prior to entering into the Chinese market may cause serious issues on performance. It is through this research an important finding is presented that engaging culturally skilled consultants when dealing with Chinese market is an effective and cost efficient way of conducting businesses in China.

Engagement and learning through social software in finance : the trading room experience

The introduction of a social software blog space called “The Trading Room” in an undergraduate Finance unit for an assessment task generated a great deal of activity to support student learning. A subsequent evaluation of this pilot demonstrated that students perceived high value in the opportunity it provided for them to reaffirm theories, obtain individualized feedback and benchmark their work against others. Whilst assessment is generally seen as both the carrot and the stick of learning, and certification; students in the study reported that they would still participate in reading and posting to the “Trading Room” blog even if there was no assessment requirement! Additionally they did not see any value in the environment as a purely social space, reporting that they saw it primarily as a professional educational community. It would appear that just as there are different communities in the real world social space, there are also different types of communities in the online space. Context, structure and activity design, perhaps are the most important facets of online interaction for learning.

Corporate governance, firm characteristics and risk management committee formation in Australian companies

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how a risk management committee (RMC), as a newly evolving sub-committee of the board of directors, functions as a key governance support mechanism in the oversight an organisation's risk management strategies, policies and processes. However, empirical evidence on the factors associated with the existence and the type of RMCs remains scant.

Design/methodology/approach – Using an agency theory perspective, this study investigates the association between board factors such as proportion of non-executive directors, Chief Executive Officer duality, and board size; as well as, other firm-related factors (e.g. auditor type, industry, leverage, and complexity), and the existence of a RMC, and the type of RMC (namely, a separate RMC versus one that is combined with the audit committee). Data was collected from the annual reports of the top 300 Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)-listed companies.

Findings – The results, based on logistic regression analyses, indicate that RMCs tend to exist in companies with an independent board chairman and larger boards. Further, the results also indicate that in comparison to companies with a combined RMC and audit committee, those with a separate RMC are more likely to have larger boards, higher financial reporting risk and lower organisational complexity.

Research limitations/implications – Data limited to top 200 top ASX-listed companies, thus restricting generalisability of the results.

Originality/value – The findings of this study provide additional information on the use and design of RMCs in a voluntary setting.

The existence and nature of risk management committees in Australian companies

A risk management committee (RMC), as a newly evolving sub-committee of the board of directors, functions as a key governance support mechanism in the oversight an organisation’s risk management strategies, policies and processes. However, empirical evidence on the factors associated with the existence and the type of RMCs remains scant. Using an agency theory perspective, this study investigates the association between board factors such as proportion of non-executive directors, CEO duality, and board size; as well as, other firm-related factors (e.g. auditor type, industry, leverage, and complexity), and (1) the existence of a RMC, and (2) the type of RMC (namely, a separate RMC versus one that is combined with the audit committee). Data was collected from the annual reports of the top 300 ASX-listed companies. The results, based on logistic regression analyses, indicate that RMCs tend to exist in companies with an independent board chairman and larger boards. Further, the results also indicate that in comparison to companies with a combined RMC and audit committee, those with a separate RMC are more likely to have larger boards, higher financial reporting risk and lower organisational complexity. The findings of this study provide additional information on the use and design of RMCs in a voluntary setting.

Doing business in China : how Australian companies make their decisions when entering the Chinese market

This report describes and analyses the experiences of Australian businesses which have established operations or conduct business in China, both successfully and unsuccessfully. The information was collected over the period from August to November in 2007. It involved interviews with 43 respondents from 40 different Australian businesses across both manufacturing and service industries. The project was motivated by the increasing significance of China to Australia’s economy (such as the demand for Australian iron and coal exports and the transfer of much of Australia’s manufacturing operations there) and its extraordinary growth and development over the past 10 years. Using the contemporary modes of international expansion as a framework, the research considered companies which had entered China through Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprises (WOFEs), Joint Ventures, exporting and other forms such as licensing and agents. Most of the participants had located their operations in China in the eastern region, including Shanghai, Beijing, Guanzhou, Shenzhen and Tianjin.

Dispersion of information or market behaviour : general public trading in S & P 500 index futures

This paper considers 15 minute records of trading volume and traded prices coinciding with the reporting intervals required by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Records are extracted from trade records for two way trade between market makers (CTI1) and the general public (CTI4) from January 1994 to June 2004. Futures price records are matched with S&P500 cash index price records. Simultaneous volatility models are specified and estimated to test trading volume to futures volatility lead/lag effects and also futures volatility to cash index volatility lead/lag effects. There is evidence that existing theoretical models of the general public trading behaviour do not explain such behaviour in these very actively traded markets. These effects can depend more on market conditions than what is suggested in theoretical models.

Cultural impact on entry mode strategies into Chinese market by Australian companies

This Paper examines the cultural impact on the choice of entry mode strategies of Australian companies entering the Chinese Market. The Paper stresses the view that cultural differences must be considered when making entry mode  decisions. The evidence gained from an analysis of case studies undertaken of two Australian companies is presented in this paper. In both cases cultural differences have major affects on the decision-making process of China operations at a strategic level. It also indicates that a uniform process of entry mode stages, as suggested in the literature on entry options, may not be  suitable. Entry mode strategy should be determined on a case-by-case base and evaluated with culture considered prior to other criteria.

The trading dynamics of close-substitute futures markets : evidence of margin policy spillover effects

Volatility spillover is well documented among closely related securities. I investigate the relationship between margin policy and trading dynamics of the Nikkei 225 index futures markets of Osaka Securities Exchange (OSE) and Singapore Exchange (SGX). I find that OSE’s margin policy influences trading dynamics across both markets, although it is the less liquid SGX market that performs price discovery. This suggests that policy markers of close substitute markets should coordinate, or at least communicate policy intentions due to policy spillover. SGX’s market design facilitates price discovery, suggesting that a microstructure framework capable of overcoming the liquidity entry barrier is of interest to any futures exchange contemplating contract proliferation.

Floor trading and screen trading : distinctions for practitioners

The creation of an electronic limit order book is discussed as the basis for distinguishing between the floor trading and screen trading of derivative instruments. Distinguishing between FTP and ETP in terms of market transparency allows investors to contemplate the trade-off between the 2 platforms. Distinguishing between FTP and ETP in terms of memory preservation allows practitioners to contemplate the different experiences when analyzing floor data and screen data. A comparable set of floor and screen data is used to examine the impact on the trading dynamics and price discovery of LIFFE's FTSE 100 index futures market when trading is automated on LIFFE CONNECT. The dynamics in the quote change equation is shortened when moving from the floor to screen sample. Using the model's measure of trade informativeness, it is found that in 4 out of 5 daily sub-samples, screen trades are more than twice as informative as floor trades. Variability within a system of equations is explained more by order size history than trade size history.

From ivory towers to international business : are universities export ready in their recruitment of international students?

The main hypothesis examined in this study is that the success of export recruitment strategies of universities is partly determined by their export readiness, defined as a function of market orientation. This article seeks to fulfil both a research and a practitioner gap in the export of education field. There currently exists a lack of research and discussion concerning the business aspects of export education. Suspicion of the commercial aspects of what is essentially a public good is suggested as a possible reason for this absence of research. With the commercialisation of education growing at the phenomenal rate that it currently is, it is largely time that this research gap be addressed. This study provides an important contribution by examining the export readiness of universities, in particular pre-export market orientation, and its impact on subsequent export recruitment performance.

The impact of globalisation on building surveying in Europe

This research examined the impact of globalisation on building surveying in Europe. Globalisation has resulted in the emergence of three large trading blocs or a global economy depending on the view one takes. This has impacted on property in two ways, by creating transnational companies who operate in many countries but require branding of their property, and companies who wish to invest in property markets other than their country of origin.

Building Surveyors have professional expertise and knowledge valued in the UK since the 1960 and 1970s but until recently not recognised in Europe, partly due to poor awareness of Building Surveying (BS) expertise, legal constraints, and practises relating to the employment of professionals. This is changing with the establishment of European Surveying associations and the globalisation of the RICS.

The results showed four factors provided the reasons for the globalisation of BS skills. These were that Building Surveyors provided a consistent level of service for their clients. Secondly that English is the language of business. Thirdly, clients perceive Europe as a single trading bloc with a need for technical representation in each investment centre, providing them with a fast, knowledgeable service. Fourthly, clients perceive that UK Building Surveyors know what international, or transnational, investors want.

The finding on the current demand for the BS services in Europe is that though demand is large, few Building Surveyors are located in Europe. Secondly, both investors and occupiers require the services of Building Surveyors, and local companies / individuals are beginning to use their professional services. Finally, there is a diverse range of demand for the many BS skills.

Five key barriers to the practice of BS skills in Europe emerged from the research. Firstly, there was the problem of limited local legal and technical knowledge possessed by outsiders. Secondly, there are legal barriers to practice in some cases. Thirdly, other professionals can, and do, offer the services of the Building Surveyor. Fourthly, there can be cultural differences between ‘values’ and ‘norms’ required in business that constitute barriers. Finally there can be ‘communication’ problems when the Building Surveyor is not located in the country where the service is required.