A conceptualization of knowledge governance in project-based organizations

This paper conceptualizes and defines knowledge governance (KG) in project-based organizations (PBOs). Two key contributions towards a multi-faceted view of KG and an understanding of KG in PBOs are advanced, as distinguished from knowledge management and organizational learning concepts. The conceptual framework addresses macro- and micro-level elements of KG and their interaction. Our definition of KG in PBOs highlights the contingent nature of KG processes in relation to their organizational context. These contributions provide a novel platform for understanding KG in PBOs.

Knowledge governance in project-based organizations : theoretical and empirical approaches

This paper conceptualizes knowledge governance (KG) in project-based organizations (PBOs) and its methodological approaches for empirical investigation. Three key contributions towards a multi-faceted view of KG and an understanding of KG in PBOs are advanced. These contributions include a definition of KG in PBOs, a conceptual framework to investigate KG and a methodological framework for empirical inquiry into KG in PBO settings. Our definition highlights the contingent nature of KG processes in relation to their organizational context. The conceptual framework addresses macro- and micro-level elements of KG and their interaction. The methodological framework proposes five different research approaches, structured by differentiation and integration of various ontological and epistemological stances. Together these contributions provide a novel platform for understanding KG in PBOs and developing new insights into the design and execution of research on KG within PBOs.

Building project competence : developing dynamic capabilities with knowledge governance mechanisms

This research investigates the development of project competence, and particularly, three related dynamic capabilities (shifting, adapting, leveraging) that contribute to project competence development. In doing so, we make use of the emerging literature on knowledge governance and theorize how knowledge governance mechanisms can move the organization towards desired knowledge-based goals. A multiple-case study comprising 23 cases advances our understanding of the elements that trigger, enable, hamper, and drive shifting, leveraging and adapting. Finally, the paper offers a tentative framework of dynamic capability building promoting project competence development.

Network structure, knowledge governance, and firm performance : evidence from innovation networks and SMEs in the UK

It is increasingly understood that learning and thus innovation often occurs via highly interactive, iterative, network-based processes. Simultaneously, economic development policy is increasingly focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as a means of generating growth, creating a clear research issue in terms of the roles and interactions of government policy, universities, and other sources of knowledge, SMEs, and the creation and dissemination of innovation. This paper analyses the contribution of a range of actors in an SME innovation creation and dissemination framework, reviewing the role of various institutions therein, exploring the contribution of cross-locality networks, and identifying the mechanisms required to operationalise such a framework. Bivariate and multivariate (regression) techniques are employed to investigate both innovation and growth outcomes in relation to these structures; data are derived from the survey responses of over 450 SMEs in the UK. Results are complex and dependent upon the nature of institutions involved, the type of knowledge sought, and the spatial level of the linkages in place but overall highlight the value of cross-locality networks, network governance structures, and certain spillover effects from universities. In general, we find less support for the factors predicting SME growth outcomes than is the case for innovation. Finally, we outline an agenda for further research in the area.

Corporate governance, accounting and finance: a review

We review accounting and finance research on corporate governance (CG). In the course of our review, we focus on a particularly vexing issue, namely endogeneity in the relationships between CG and other matters of concern to accounting and finance scholars, and suggest ways to deal with it. Given the advent of large commercial CG databases, we also stress the importance of how CG is measured and in particular, the construction of CG indices, which should be sensitive to local institutional arrangements, and the need to capture both internal and external aspects of governance. The ‘stickiness’ of CG characteristics provides an additional challenge to CG scholars. Better theory is required, for example, to explain whether various CG practices substitute for each other or are complements. While a multidisciplinary approach to developing better theory is never without its difficulties, it could enrich the current body of knowledge in CG. Despite the vastness of the existing CG literature, these issues do suggest a number of avenues for future research.

Corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management in transitional countries – evidence from Chinese listed firms

The objective of this thesis is to investigate whether the corporate governance practices adopted by Chinese listed firms are associated with the quality of earnings information. Based on a review of agency and institutional theory, this study develops hypotheses that predict the monitoring effectiveness of the board and the audit committee. Using a combination of univariate and multivariate analyses, the association between corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management are tested from 2004 to 2008. Through analysing the empirical results, a number of findings are summarised as below. First, board independence is weakened by the introduction of government officials as independent directors on the boards. Government officials acting as independent directors, claim that they meet the definition of independent director set by the regulation. However, they have some connection with the State, which is the controlling shareholder in listed SOEs affiliated companies. Consequently, the effect of the independent director’s expertise in constraining earnings management is mitigated as demonstrated by an insignificant association between board expertise and earnings management. An alternative explanation for the inefficiency of board independence may point to the pre-selection of independent directors by the powerful CEO. It is argued that a CEO can manipulate the board composition and choose the "desirable" independent directors to monitor themselves. Second, a number of internal mechanisms, such as board size, board activities, and the separation of the roles of the CEO and chair are found to be significantly associated with discretionary accruals. This result suggests that there are advantages in having a large and active board in the Chinese setting. This can offset the disadvantages associated with large boards, such as increased bureaucracy, and hence, increase the constraining effects of a large and resourceful board. Third, factor analysis identifies two factors: CEO power and board power. CEO power is the factor which consists of CEO duality and turnover, and board power is composed of board size and board activity. The results of CEO power show that if a Chinese listed company has CEO duality and turnover at the same time, it is more likely to have a high level of earnings management. The significant and negative relationship between board power and accruals indicate that large boards with frequent meetings can be associated with low level of earnings management. Overall, the factor analysis suggests that certain governance mechanisms complement each other to become more efficient monitors of opportunistic earnings management. A combination of board characteristics can increase the negative association with earnings management. Fourth, the insignificant results between audit committees and earnings management in Chinese listed firms suggests that the Chinese regulator should strengthen the audit committee functions. This thesis calls for listed firms to disclose more information on audit committee composition and activities, which can facilitate future research on the Chinese audit committee’s monitoring role. Fifth, the interactive results between State ownership and board characteristics show that dominant State ownership has a moderating effect on board monitoring power as the State totally controls 42% of the issued shares. The high percentage of State ownership makes it difficult for the non-controlling institutional shareholders to challenge the State’s dominant status. As a result, the association between non-controlling institutional ownership and earnings management is insignificant in most situations. Lastly, firms audited by the international Big4 have lower abnormal accruals than firms audited by domestic Chinese audit firms. In addition, the inverse U-shape relationship between audit tenure and earnings quality demonstrates the changing effects of audit quality after a certain period of appointment. Furthermore, this thesis finds that listing in Hong Kong Stock Exchanges can be an alternative governance mechanism to discipline Chinese firms to follow strict Hong Kong listing requirements. Management of Hong Kong listed companies are exposed to the scrutiny of international investors and Hong Kong regulators. This in turn reduces their chances of conducting self-interested earnings manipulation. This study is designed to fill the gap in governance literature in China that is related to earnings management. Previous research on corporate governance mechanisms and earnings management in China is not conclusive. The current research builds on previous literature and provides some meaningful implications for practitioners, regulators, academic, and international investors who have investment interests in a transitional country. The findings of this study contribute to corporate governance and earnings management literature in the context of the transitional economy of China. The use of alternative measures for earnings management yields similar results compared with the accruals models and produces additional findings.

Deviant knowledge : criminology, politics and policy

The “political” dynamics and the details of conducting criminological research on a day-to-day basis are examined. The role of government and commercial contracts in contemporary criminological scholarship are explored, as well as the various obstacles that criminologists must negotiate during the completion of a research project. The criminological implications of the ways in which academic environments are changing under new managerialist philosophies are examined. The ways in which notions of “critique” have become subordinate to the politics of existing governing rationalities are also examined. Chapter 1 details the questions, contours, and methods of “deviant knowledge.” Chapter 2 discusses the contours of criminological knowledge, including early criminological developments, international reconstruction and developments in criminological research following World War II, the United Nations, and the rise of critical genres. Chapter 3 explores criminology, government, and public policy, including the policies of the Home Office of England and Wales; the National Institute of Justice in Washington, DC; and the Australian Institute of Criminology in Canberra. The politics and control of criminological knowledge are discussed in chapter 4, along with ethical and legal issues, gathering and accessing data, and publishing results of research. Chapter 5 describes the “War on Terror” and government intolerance and suppression of free speech. Chapter 6 examines the new modes of governance and the commercialization of criminological knowledge. Chapter 7 discusses intellectual independence and collective concern, and the value of critique. 3 appendices, 546 references, index

Essays on corporate governance, stakeholders, and restructuring

This dissertation consists of an introductory section and three theoretical essays analyzing the interaction of corporate governance and restructuring. The essays adopt an incomplete contracts approach and analyze the role of different institutional designs to facilitate the alignment of the objectives of shareholders and management (or employees) over the magnitude of corporate restructuring. The first essay analyzes how a firm's choice of production technology affects the employees' human capital investment. In the essay, the owners of the firm can choose between a specific and a general technology that both require a costly human capital investment by the employees. The specific technology is initially superior in using the human capital of employees but, in contrast to the general technology, it is not compatible with future innovations. As a result, anticipated changes in the specific technology diminish the ex ante incentives of the employees to invest in human capital unless the shareholders grant the employees specific governance mechanisms (a right of veto, severance pay) so as to protect their investments. The results of the first essay indicate that the level of protection that the shareholders are willing to offer falls short of the socially desirable one. Furthermore, when restructuring opportunities become more abundant, it becomes more attractive both socially and from the viewpoint of the shareholders to initially adopt the general technology. The second essay analyzes how the allocation of authority within the firm interacts with the owners' choice of business strategy when the ability of the owners to monitor the project proposals of the management is biased in favor of the status quo strategy. The essay shows that a bias in the monitoring ability will affect not only the allocation of authority within the firm but also the choice of business strategy. Especially, when delegation has positive managerial incentive effects, delegation turns out to be more attractive under the new business strategy because the improved managerial incentives are a way for the owners to compensate their own reduced information gathering ability. This effect, however, simultaneously makes the owners hesitant to switch the strategy since it would involve a more frequent loss of control over the project choice. Consequently, the owners' lack of knowledge of the new business strategy may lead to a suboptimal choice of strategy. The third essay analyzes the implications of CEO succession process for the ideal board structure. In this essay, the presence of the departing CEO on the board facilitates the ability of the board to find a matching successor and to counsel him. However, the ex-CEO's presence may simultaneously also weaken the ability of the board to restructure since the predecessor may use the opportunity to distort the successor's project choice. The results of the essay suggest that the extent of restructuring gains, the firm's ability to hire good outside directors and the importance of board's advisory role affect at which point and for how long the shareholders may want to nominate the predecessor to the board.

Globalization and basketball in China: governance, market and culture

Chinese sports are developing under very complex and unique political, economic, and cultural circumstances in the global age. This study aims to investigate the process of globalization in basketball through an examination of its multidimensional manifestations. The study aligns itself with Ritzer’s (2003, 2007b) conceptualization of dichotomizing the process of globalization into grobalization and glocalization. On that basis, the trajectory of basketball globalization in China is identified as the result of a contextual and competing interplay between the penetration of the NBA and the consequent engagement of Chinese basketball. A qualitative methodological approach was conducted to achieve the research aim. Data were collected from a number of sources, including official documents and semi-structured interviews with relevant basketball participants. The study reveals that globalization and basketball in China, in the political and institutional dimension, is a conflicting process. The universalization of the NBA’s governance model could not be fully assimilated due to the centralization of power in the Chinese government, which is hindering the further professionalization and marketization of basketball. In the economic dimension, the globalization process is seen to interplay with the local basketball market, which is growing thanks to the adaption of the NBA’s marketing strategies. In the cultural dimension, the study demonstrates that the NBA has to some extent cosmopolitanized and consumerized Chinese basketball culture, while resistance from both the state and the Chinese people has risen, creolizing the globalization of basketball culture in China.

Definition and quantification of assets

The word ‘asset’ was originally taken into the English language, from the Latin ‘ad satis’ and French ‘asez’, as a term used at law meaning sufficient estate or effects to discharge debts. It later came to be used in the sense of property available for the payment of debts. Assets were understood to be property (objects owned and rights of ownership) that could be exchanged for cash. The importance of factual knowledge of the money equivalents of property and debts, in managing mercantile affairs, was emphasised in accounting manuals during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The rights of investors and creditors to factual up-to-date information about the financial state of affairs of companies, given the advent of limited liability, underscored the early company legislation that required the preparation and auditing of statements of property and debts. During the latter part of the nineteenth century the emphasis in accounting moved away from assets as exchangeable property to assets as deferred costs. Expectations took the place of observables. The abstract (expectational) notion of assets as ‘future economic benefits’ was embraced by accountants in the absence of rigorous definitions of the elements and functions of dated statements of financial position and performance. Assets are quantified financially by a heterogeneous mass of potentially inconsistent rules that, by and large, have no regard for the empirical nature of measurement. Consequently, accountants have failed to provide the community with up-to-date factual information about the financial state of affairs and performance of business entities - and, hence, with an informative basis for financial action.

Determinants of Central bank independence and governance : problems and policy implications

Central bank independence and governance (CBIG) is a term subject to conflicting definitions and so its related studies are difficult to compare. This paper therefore focuses on developing of a more useable definition, and an index model identifying the determinants of independence and governance and their possible policy implications. It also examines various independence measurement tools such as ranking and index. The index model resulting centres on key central bank independence and corporate governance issues, such as, legal aspects, political aspects, price stability objective aspects, exchange rate policy aspects, monetary policy and deficit financing aspects and finally, transparency and accountability aspects.

Traditional knowledge, biological resources and intellectual property rights in Asia : the example of the Philippines

The relationship between traditional knowledge and intellectual property rights has become a topic for intensive debates at the national level, in various international settings and within and among different UN agencies, including the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), UNESCO, UNCTAD and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). However, a consensus on a definition of traditional knowledge has yet to emerge due to persistent differences in perception. On the one hand, indigenous communities hold locally specific and holistic views of traditional knowledge, which are difficult to place within the framework of current intellectual property rights. Governments of developing countries, on the other hand, mostly focus on clearly defined aspects of traditional knowledge and their interpretation in the national interest and as expressions of national culture. Asian governments, in particular, have advocated the latter view. The Philippines provide an exception due to a tradition of recognising indigenous people as separate "cultural communities". However, the practical implementation of so-called "community intellectual rights" thus far is largely confined to access and benefit sharing rules, compensation requirements for traditional farmers and defensive protection measures such as digital libraries documenting traditional knowledge.

Recommendations from GEC ESTRO Breast Cancer Working Group (I): Target definition and target delineation for accelerated or boost Partial Breast Irradiation using multicatheter interstitial brachytherapy after breast conserving closed cavity surgery

OBJECTIVE The aim was to develop a delineation guideline for target definition for APBI or boost by consensus of the Breast Working Group of GEC-ESTRO. PROPOSED RECOMMENDATIONS Appropriate delineation of CTV (PTV) with low inter- and intra-observer variability in clinical practice is complex and needs various steps as: (1) Detailed knowledge of primary surgical procedure, of all details of pathology, as well as of preoperative imaging. (2) Definition of tumour localization before breast conserving surgery inside the breast and translation of this information in the postoperative CT imaging data set. (3) Calculation of the size of total safety margins. The size should be at least 2 cm. (4) Definition of the target. (5) Delineation of the target according to defined rules. CONCLUSION Providing guidelines based on the consensus of a group of experts should make it possible to achieve a reproducible and consistent definition of CTV (PTV) for Accelerated Partial Breast Irradiation (APBI) or boost irradiation after breast conserving closed cavity surgery, and helps to define it after selected cases of oncoplastic surgery.