Browsing Ph.D. theses (INT) by Year Published
Now showing items 1-7 of 7
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Insights from Annual General MeetingsStrand, Therese (Frederiksberg, 2012)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This thesis consists of five empirical studies, all relating to shareholder activism at annual general meetings. The first study concerns the structure and content of general meetings in Denmark and Sweden comparatively. The paper reveals significant differences in the level of activism, with Swedish investors being the most active in terms of proposals, proxy voting, and ‘voice’. The paper takes a legal approach, and discusses divergence in activism levels from the perspective of shareholder prerequisites to engage in monitoring efforts. Further, the paper investigating the topics addressed through questions and opinions. The results show that matters which can be categorized as irrelevant are reasonably rare. This is an important finding, as suggestions to abolish general meetings have often been based on the assumption that general meetings facilitate nothing but irrelevant, time consuming, and costly discussions that serves no monitoring function. The second study analyses the impact of voting power on shareholder activism. We hypothesize that there is a positive relationship between shareholder activism and a measure of the largest shareholder’s sensitivity to increased participation by small shareholders and find that firms’ amenability to small shareholder influence leads to more proposals by the nomination committee, but fewer proposals by other shareholders. We interpret this as evidence that the shareholder elected nomination committees effectively channel shareholder concerns and preempt other kinds of activism. Politicians and companies that desire active shareholders could improve the amenability of firms to shareholder influence by ownership transparency, shareholder committees, and contacts with shareholder associations and other vehicles for collective action... URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8460 Files in this item: 1
Therese_Strand.pdf (1.719Mb) -
An application to ChinaLi, Xin (Frederiksberg, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The starting point of this PhD research is two observations. The first is that people often tend to discuss a country’s national competitiveness in a general tone, i.e., judging a country to be either competitive or uncompetitive, rather than making more balanced assessment, and therefore their opinions often contradict each other. The second observation is that there are many competing international reports that rank a large number of countries in terms of their national competitiveness. These reports often provide different rankings for a given country (e.g., China), and therefore the readers of these reports are often left with a confusing picture. The first observation reflects the reality that there has been a lack of commonly accepted definition of national competitiveness. The second reflects the methodological problems of the indexing-and-ranking methods commonly used by international competitiveness reports... URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8357 Files in this item: 1
Xin_Li.pdf (5.486Mb) -
Sigurjonsson, Throstur Olaf (Frederiksberg, 2011)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: Currently, the corporate governance has the agenda of categorizing reality and thereby determining which systems are more effective and efficient in a given context. A question is posed; how has the internationalization of markets, liberalization, deregulation, and privatization adapted to rapid changes in traditionally based models of corporate governance? When corporate governance practices are exported from one country to another, they tend to be translated and customized to local practices before being adopted. The objective of this thesis is to examine this type of adaptation and explain the circumstances that led to a collapse of governance mechanisms, using Iceland as an example. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/8336 Files in this item: 1
Throstur Sigurjonsson.pdf (3.434Mb) -
An Empirical Reconciliation of Two Critical ConceptsOhnemus, Lars (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
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An empirical analysis of Economics and ManagementÓladóttir, Ásta Dis (Frederiksberg, 2010)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This dissertation consists of an introductory chapter, followed by four papers that approach the topic of internationalization of small economies and the multinational firm from different angles. The concluding chapter deals with what happened in Iceland after the crisis that started in October 2008 with the collapse of the Icelandic financial system and how the very fast internationalization of Icelandic firms was possible, but only as further issues that need to be researched. Each of the papers can be read individually as well as in the larger context of this dissertation. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7993 Files in this item: 1
Ásta_Dis_Óladóttir.pdf (2.005Mb) -
The Norwegian maritime sectorWallevik, Kristin (Frederiksberg, 2009)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: The four papers in this thesis investigate corporate governance in family firms from different angles, with emphasis on industry and industry networks. I divide the industry networks into social and commercial networks, where social networks are measured by interlocking boards and commercial networks by investments in other firms in the same industry. Focus is on the governance structures in family firms, how industry and networks may be determinants of family ownership, and the effect of family ownership and strong industry networks on financial performance in certain industries (such as the maritime industry). Two of the papers are theoretical papers and two are empirical papers. The empirical papers are based on the same hand-collected dataset comprising 167 Norwegian listed companies from 1996-2005. The first paper - “Corporate Governance in Family firms” comprises a survey of the corporate governance literature on family firms, paying attention to the unique issues in the governance of these firms. I discuss different forms of ownership and how different agency contexts and business environments may suit family ownership better than other ownership structures. I also discuss how firms can reap the benefits of family ownership, by using a relational governance model, if there is an atmosphere of positive relationships, trust and shared visions. A relational governance model focuses on the social capital embedded in personal relations between owners, managers and board members. A contractual governance model, however, focuses on finding the optimal incentives in the relations between owners and managers, in addition to having greater focus on the monitoring role of the board. These two models may complement and supplement each other in a governance structure. The question is how these different governance models affect firms’ operations, decision-making, and competitiveness. The second paper - “The Effect of Industry Networks on Family Ownership” deals with possible effects of industry networks on the prevalence of family firms in different industries. I discuss how various networks can be determinants of family ownership, in addition to elements like incentives, monitoring, and altruism, as well as firm, industry and nation specific factors. I also discuss whether family firms can gain more from these industry networks than other firms due to a higher degree of ”thick trust”, strong owner-manager relations and the use of a relational governance structure. This paper proposes that strong social and commercial networks affect the number of family firms in an industry, as a result of the social capital embedded in these relations. Paper three - “Social and Commercial Networks as Determinants of Family Ownership - The Norwegian Shipping Industry” is an empirical paper testing whether industry networks are among the determinants of family ownership in the Norwegian shipping industry. The overall question is why family ownership is more prevalent in some industries, and which elements that influence this ownership structure. I focus on industry effects such as the number of firms in an industry and the social and commercial industry networks between firms. These are potential determinants of family ownership. I find that both industry and various industry networks have a significant and positive effect on family ownership in the shipping industry. The fourth paper - “Family Ownership, Networks and Financial Performance” takes up the question whether family ownership and various networks affect financial performance, measured by Tobin’s q and ROA lagged, or not. Earlier studies come to different conclusions regarding the relationship between family ownership and firm performance, which may be due to differences in the agency context of the studies. I add industry and industry networks as central variables to disentangle some of the contextual factors in this relationship. This paper argues that it is not necessarily the family ownership that affects performance, but how this ownership is used in a strategic manner. Establishing and using networks are seemingly a means of operation in some industries, sometimes with a positive effect on performance. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7901 Files in this item: 1
Kristin_Wallevik.pdf (3.039Mb) -
Entry timing and mode choiceJakobsen, Kristian (København, 2008)[More information][Less information]
Abstract: This dissertation consists of an introduction followed by four papers on issues related to the choice of entry timing and entry mode in transition economies. Below is a list of the papers that is included in the dissertation with information about their current publication status and coauthorships. * Jakobsen, K. 2007. First mover advantages in Central and Eastern Europe: A comparative analysis of performance measures, Journal of East-West Business, 13(1), 35-61. * Jakobsen, K. 2008. Competition for Markets in the Brewing Industry in Central and Eastern Europe. In J. Larimo (Ed.) Perspectives on Internationalization and International Management, Vassan Yliopiston Julkaisuja, p. 299-316. ISBN 978-952-476-228-1 * Jakobsen, K., & Meyer, K. E. 2008. Partial Acquisition: The overlooked entry mode. In J. H. Dunning and P. Gugler (eds.) Progress in International Business Research 2, Elsevier Science, p. 203-226. ISBN 978-0-7623-1475-1. * Jakobsen, K., & Meyer, K. E. 2007. Negotiating entry modes: Partial acquisitions in transition economies. Revise and resubmit at International Business Review URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10398/7681 Files in this item: 1
kristian_jakobsen.pdf (1.922Mb)
Now showing items 1-7 of 7