Aid and institutions in transition economies

We investigate whether aid contributed to institutional development in transition economies. We find that aid flows have a positive effect on democratization, especially on constraints on the executive and political participation. At the same time, total aid has no effect on overall quality of governance, while US aid appears to have a negative impact on some dimensions of governance. Aid's differential impact on democracy and governance is consistent with uneven development of institutions and the democracy consolidation hypothesis. We also find that aid has a non-linear effect on democracy. Openness has a positive effect on both democracy and good governance. Oil resources have an adverse effect on democracy. Adult mortality, civil war and adherence to Islam are all detrimental to good governance.

Economic transition and commercial property markets : China and Poland

This paper discusses the economic transition and the property market emergence in transition economies. It compares the Chinese property market with the Polish market. It preliminarily examines market emergence and maturity in the context of economic transition, comparing the transitions with the emphasis placed on commercial property markets especially their formation and behaviour. Supply and demand for commercial space in China and Poland are also contrasted. As commercial property market behaviour is somewhat driven by market structure formation process and the business cycle, the transition has provided a “common ground” that enables similarities between the property markets in China and Poland. The challenge for state intervention is mainly due to the agency problem which is also a problem in mature markets; it appears that transitional economies do share common features in their emerging property markets. This paper suggests state intervention in market formation and emergence is necessary and essential. However the actual formation and behaviour of property markets have some distinctive characteristics. Value or implication of the study include: knowing the stage of market emergence is essential for making investment decisions, especially when identifying markets with varying backgrounds. This paper is also relevant to policy-makers in the process of facilitating transitions in emerging markets.

Non-wage benefits, corporate ownership and firm performance in post-communist economies: evidence from Ukraine

The economic reforms in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe have fundamentally reshaped ownership and governance of economic production, notably through the privatization of former state-owned enterprises. These reforms were expected to transform management practices by displacing ‘cradle-to-grave’ welfare arrangements administered by state-owned enterprises. Using data drawn from two large samples of Ukrainian establishments, we investigate, in two different time points, the relationship between non-wage benefits and firm performance during the period of transition to a market economy (1994–2004). We found that non-wage benefits continued to be a critical feature of HRM practices in Ukraine during this period, and were positively associated with firm performance.

Spatial aid spillovers during transition

We investigate whether development aid stimulates growth in transition economies, paying particular attention to the possibility of spatial spillovers arising from aid. We find that common borders and a shared historical and political heritage result in a complex set of associations between aid and growth. Aid has a positive impact on growth in the recipient country. However, the impact of aid also spills over to affect other nations. Aid appears to create positive spillovers through improved total factor productivity and possibly currency appreciation. At the same time, aid depletes human capital through emigration and it particularly adversely affects democracy and governance quality in other transition economies. On balance, aid generates net adverse growth spillovers in transition economies.

Internationalisation of SMEs : European comparative studies

We examine new research on the internationalisation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in 27 European countries. We find that, in both established market economies and in transition economies, SME international entrepreneurship is driven by internal resources and capabilities, membership in networks or clusters, favourable government policies, economy, competitive market conditions, and industry structure. We then develop a conceptual model and propositions of the drivers of European SME internationalisation. Our findings have important implications for managers in improving their firms' international market performance.

Aid, institutions and development

 The PhD thesis studied the effect of aid on economic growth and institutions in 32 transition economies. Main results: aid has contributed to economic growth and democratization;,it has zero to negative effect on governance quality; economic growth, democracy and governance have a positive external influence across space; there is some evidence of a negative spatial relationship between aid and democracy and governance

Developing economies and the emergence of new stakeholder group: an examination of stakeholders in the Chinese stock market

As a consequence of the development of the Chinese economy, there has been an emergence of “new” stakeholder groups for the Chinese listed firms. New stakeholder groups include creditors, regulatory agencies, private investors, professional associations and environmentalists. With the use of secondary data, a review was undertaken to explore the emergence of these new stakeholder groups and discuss their influence over listed firms in China. The stakeholder typology developed by Mitchell et al (1997) is used to identify stakeholder attributes of each stakeholder group and assess their stakeholder power. The changes of stakeholder power over the years mirror China’s transition from a centrally planned economy to a more market oriented one.

Development aid and growth in transition countries

Empirical studies normally analyze diverse and heterogeneous groups of countries, producing very mixed evidence on the effectiveness of development aid in promoting growth. We focus on whether aid promotes economic growth in transitional economies. We find that aid, on average, has had a positive impact on growth for this specific group of countries. This result is robust to samples, estimators, and the use of alternate instruments to address endogeneity. Aid effectiveness is not conditional on good policy and there is little evidence of non-linear growth effects arising from aid.

Making sense of business leadership vis-à-vis china’s reform and transition

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the contemporary paradigm of business leadership vis-à-vis China’s reform and transitional context. Design/methodology/approach – The paper employs an evidence-based approach to explore the business leadership issues influenced by economic reform and within the context of societal transition in China. A qualitative research method was adopted based on in-depth interviews with a number of middle managers from a variety of Chinese enterprises, including state-owned, domestic-private and foreigninvested enterprises. Content analysis of several rounds of interviews added depth to the data analysis. Findings – The findings complement existing thoughts and illustrate concepts, issues, and characteristics not yet emphasized in mainstream literature. General patterns and associated characteristics of business leadership in China, as well as specific patterns associated with different forms of enterprise ownerships, are identified. Research limitations/implications – The study makes a timely and necessary contribution that enriches context-specific understandings of business leadership against the backdrop of surrounding economic, social, and cultural changes. Practical implications – The study enriches understandings of commonalities and differences in leadership across the globe, facilitating working collaboratively to achieve common goals in a global community. Originality/value – The study offers new insights into business leadership by linking contextual, personal, and cognitional factors together and demonstrates some unique characteristics of leadership styles in transitional economies like China.