Control Rights Research Articles

Learning with remote laboratories: Designing control algorithms with both block diagrams and customized C code schemes

AbstractThis paper presents the design and implementation of the control algorithms design module based on a remote laboratory named NCSLab, which allows students, teachers, and researchers to do practical experiments with various control systems remotely via the Internet whenever and wherever they want. To meet the demand of students with different levels and provide more extensibility, a flexible control algorithm designing system is deployed using a frontend and backend separation framework. JointJS is selected to construct the graphic user interface and an algorithm server is developed to deal with the algorithms tasks. In this way, the users are able to customize control systems online with a visualized interactive interface. A control algorithm could be formed easily without programming, so the users could concentrate on the control algorithm itself. For advanced users, customized C‐MEX S‐Functions are available for extra sophisticated control systems. The designed control algorithms are converted into executable codes at the back‐end by the servers. They could be implemented into the remote test rigs and then the corresponding results would be sent back in real‐time. The overall implementation is based on the web, so only common browsers and Internet access are needed. By logging into the laboratory through the web, the users could start practical experiments quickly after acquiring the control right of the desired test rig. And the whole process, including designing, simulating, and generating codes, is integrated into the interface of the proposed system module, which is easy to use and could bring great convenience to the users.

How do financial contracts evolve for new ventures?

While previous research has characterized the key features of contracts between entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, little is known about the contracts' evolution over time and across funding rounds. We overcome significant data challenges to compile a novel panel dataset of U.S. early-stage ventures that includes the main financial and control rights offered to investors at each (equity) funding round. We find that there is a ‘default contract’ with a distinct combination of rights that the majority of companies gravitate to. This default contract is typically implemented in the initial Series A funding round and rarely deviated from in later rounds. Whenever deviations do occur, terms are usually revised in favour of investors, and not entrepreneurs. Due to this stickiness of the default contract, for successful startups we argue that post-money valuations in later rounds can be a reasonable proxy for the economic value of the firm.

Public governance and tunneling: evidence from a quasi-experiment in China

PurposeThis study aims to take advantage of the unprecedented anti-corruption campaign launched in China in December 2012 and examine the effect of improved public governance on tunneling.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a sample of Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchange listed companies from 2010 to 2014 and conduct regression analyses to investigate the effect of improved public governance attributed to the anti-corruption campaign on tunneling.FindingsThis study finds that the level of tunneling decreased significantly after the anti-corruption campaign, suggesting that increased public governance effectively curbs tunneling. Cross-sectional results show that this mitigating effect is more pronounced for non-SOE firms, especially non-SOE firms with political connections, firms audited by non-Big 8 auditors, firms with a large divergence between control rights and cash flow rights and firms located in areas with lower marketization.Practical implicationsThis study highlights the importance of anti-corruption initiatives in improving public governance and in turn reducing tunneling. This study provides important implications for many other emerging economies to improve public governance.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature on the role of public governance in constraining corporate agency problems and advances the understanding of the economic consequences of China's anti-corruption campaign in the context of tunneling.

Optimization and Simulation of Accounting Information Practice Model Assisted by Discrete Dynamic Events

The performance function expressed by the expected value of the discrete event dynamic system usually does not have a closed analytical expression, so it can only be estimated by the Monte-Carlo method. The inherent limitations of the Monte-Carlo method (low simulation efficiency) and the complexity of the system bring a lot to the simulation optimization problem. A huge challenge has come. A reasonable combination of mathematical methods and computer simulation technology is an important direction to study the optimal design of DESD. On the basis of linear systems on maximal algebras, this article studies a class of multimodel systems on maximal algebras. This article presents a non-Markov DEDS time-synchronized parallel simulation algorithm and proves that the common random number method can maximize the simulation efficiency of an existing event-synchronized algorithm. We take advantage of the inherent parallelism of genetic algorithm, and combine the idea of parallel simulation and DEDS order optimization to give an optimization algorithm for discrete parameter space DEDS. This article discusses the relationship between ultimate control, internal control, and accounting information quality. This article analyzes the relationship between ultimate control right, internal control, and accounting information quality. We use the manipulated accruals calculated by the modified Jones model and the earnings response coefficient of the earnings-return model to measure the quality of accounting information, and analyze the impact of the ultimate control ratio and internal control level on the quality of accounting information. Based on the difference in the nature of the controller and the ratio of ultimate control rights, this article examines the difference in the effect of internal control on the quality of accounting information in companies with high and low ratios of ultimate control rights. The robustness tests of the two accounting information measurement models are carried out, respectively, and the results obtained are basically consistent with the empirical research conclusions. The situation is the most important to its own development. Among them, the asset turnover rate has a greater effect on the early warning of corporate financial crisis, and the status of the current asset turnover rate and the total asset turnover rate in the financial early warning is also crucial. This article studies the correlation between the overall level of internal control and the quality of accounting information, avoiding the one-sidedness caused by using a single index to measure the level of internal control.

Dual-class stock structure and firm investment

Dual-class stock structure helps insiders gain control through different voting rights, but also exacerbates the principal-agent conflict. The separation of control rights and cash flow rights enhances managerial opportunistic behavior. We find that dual-class stock structure aggravates the over-investment behavior of listed firms. The impact of free cash flow on over-investment is more severe in dual class firms than in single-class firms. Paying cash dividends reduces the effects of dual-class stock structure, and separation of control and cash flow rights on overinvestment. Regulators need to strengthen the supervision to restrict managerial opportunistic behavior in firms with dual-class share structure.

Employment protection regimes and dismissal of members in worker cooperatives

In connection with the "Great Reset" literature in management and organizational theory, this article discusses human resource sustainability, employment stability, and layoffs in worker cooperatives, a unique organizational form in which employees are members holding residual control rights. Theoretical and empirical contributions show that worker control stabilizes employment better than investor ownership, opening the door to stronger employment protection. The paper leverages key theoretical insights from evolutionary economics and systems theory to discuss the benefits and critical elements associated with limiting member layoffs in worker cooperatives. While strong employment protection can lead to short-term inefficiencies and underperformance due to labour hoarding, imperfections in governance and control mechanisms, it can foster better accumulation and retention of firm-specific human capital and dynamic capabilities, thereby supporting long-term performance.

Recognition of Forest Carbon Rights in Indonesia: A Constitutional Approach

As a forest-rich nation, Indonesia has actively participated in carbon market governance like the REDD+ program. With the rapid expansion of REDD+ to address the effects of climate change, questions surrounding carbon rights have surfaced. This study aims to analyze the regulatory development of carbon rights in Indonesia and its impact on the community rights over forest resources by elaborating on the ideal carbon rights governance under a constitutional perspective. The study uses the normative method, which includes pertinent rules and supporting statements from climate change specialists. This study shows that carbon rights are defined broadly as the right to participate in forest carbon trading, although they require a government permit. There is no clear explanation of the relationship between land tenure and carbon ownership under the existing legislation, despite four permits to acquire carbon benefits: environmental service, social forestry, ecosystem restoration, and forest carbon administration permit. While the state can claim state control rights on certain commodities like carbon under Article 33 of the Indonesian Constitution, it also has to manage the distribution of carbon incentives based on the public interest. By facilitating the transfer of carbon rights under a carbon trading scheme while highlighting the government's role in sharing the benefits of carbon via a result-based payment scheme, Presidential Regulation 98/2021 contributes to more explicit control of carbon rights. All concerns related to carbon rights governance in Indonesia include complicated administrative and technical requirements for applying for a license, insecure land tenure due to overlapping claims, and unlawful encroachment in forest regions. Since land tenure issues remain unresolved, recognizing carbon rights as an alternative to recognizing marginal and community rights to forest resources could be viable.
 KEYWORDS: Environmental Regulation, Forest Carbon Rights, REDD+.

Gun violence as a public health issue: Media advocacy, framing and implications for communication

Following a recent push to reframe gun violence as a public health issue, an online survey (N = 510) helped explore frame salience and frame adoption through the lens of media advocacy. Findings revealed that gun control and gun rights frames are salient, and television, social media and newspapers are the most popular sources of gun violence information. Individuals are being held responsible, while background checks were the most salient and adopted solution among Americans. Three gun rights organizations were the most salient organizations from media coverage related to gun violence. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

“Idealists and capitalists”: ownership attitudes and preferences in genomic citizen science

The perspectives of genomic citizen scientists on ownership of research outputs are not well understood, yet they are useful for identifying alignment of participant expectations and project practices and can help guide efforts to develop innovative tools and strategies for managing ownership claims. Here, we report findings from 52 interviews conducted in 2018 and 2019 to understand genomic citizen science stakeholders’ conceptualizations of, experiences with, and preferences for ownership of research outputs. Interviewees identified four approaches for recognizing genomic citizen scientists’ ownership and related credit interests in research outputs: shared governance via commons models; fractional ownership of benefits; full and creative attribution; and offensive and defensive patenting. Interviewees also agreed that the model selected by any project should at least maximize access to research outputs and, as appropriate and to the extent possible, broadly distribute rights of control and entitlements to research benefits.

Research on the Influence of Mixed-Ownership Reform on Exploratory Innovation of SOEs: The Mediation Effect of Agency Conflict and Financing Constraint

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) are the leading force in the national economy. The main goal of mixed-ownership reform is to enhance the SOEs’ independent innovation capability, thereby bringing high-quality development of the national economy. Based on the baseline regression and mediation effect model, this study explores the impact of mixed-ownership reform on exploratory innovation of SOEs from ownership structure adjustment and control rights allocation. The results show that the diversity of mixed shareholders, the depth of mixed equity, and the control of mixed equity significantly increase the SOEs’ exploratory innovation investment. And the shareholding ratio of heterogeneous shareholders has a differentiated influence on exploratory innovation. The mediation effect test indicates that the promotion effect of mixed-ownership reform of SOEs in the ownership structure dimension is achieved by reducing the second-type agency conflict and easing the financing constraints. In contrast, the promotion effect in the control rights allocation dimension is achieved by lowering the first-type agency conflict. The findings demonstrate that the mixed-ownership reform have positive effect on the SOEs’ exploratory innovation investment, and the different dimensions of mixed-ownership reform have disparate function routes to exploratory innovation. This study provides guidance for SOEs on how drive national innovation development through mixed-ownership reform. SOEs should guarantee the rights of non-state-owned capital to hold shares and appoint directors, improve internal governance mechanisms, so as to accelerate the development of exploratory innovation activities.

The Ideal Concept of the State's Responsibility for Fulfilling the Right to Water

The state should be responsible for guaranteeing and meeting the needs of all citizens' rights in the form of the right to water, including the obligation to respect, protect, fulfill, and provide facilities for the benefit of these rights and in this case, the state as the ruler in managing water resources. This study aims to analyze and find a legal reconstruction of the state's right to control water and its resources as well as legal restrictions on the exploitation of water resources. This study is a normative legal research using a statutory approach and a conceptual approach whose main ingredients are derived from the results of the author's dissertation research. The results of this study indicate that the state is responsible for the right to water and uses the law as a means of regulating, administering, providing guarantees to meet minimal water needs, regulating access and distribution of water fairly and equitably, so that all people can enjoy the right to water. The state can fully control water resources if the legal reconstruction of the state's right to control is carried out through a dialectical process, namely bringing together the ideal legal construction of state control rights as a thesis and the legal construction of state control rights that exist as antithesis to produce an ideal legal construction. Legal restrictions on the exploitation of water resources are carried out referring to the RI Law No. 17 of 2019 and in the decision of the Constitutional Court Number 85/PUU-XII/2013 which lists 6 main requirements that limit the exploitation of water resources. Keywords: State Responsibility, Right to Water, Water Resources DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/120-13 Publication date: April 30 th 2022

Kepemilikan ultimate perusahaan di Indonesia: Praktik Tunneling

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of separation control rights and cash flow rights on tunneling activities. control rights indicator is interpreted through a socioemotional perspective. Furthermore, the main focus of the research is to investigate the divergence between control rights and cash flow right by ultimate structure ownership on tunneling activities through the size of related party transactions (RPTs) from the agency theory. The regression analysis technique was used to test the hypothesis developed in the study, the population is manufacturing companies on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), with a sampling technique using a purposive sampling method. The results of the study prove a significant influence between control rights on tunneling activities, showing that the motivation for control rights is not socioemotional. Meanwhile, cash flow rights have a significant influence on tunneling activities. Furthermore, the results of the study provide empirical evidence that higher divergence can lead to greater tunneling activities. The theoretical contribution of this research is to visualize agency theory and socioemotional perspective. It is hoped that further research can examine company ownership in Indonesia from a socioemotional perspective.

Exploring multiple drivers of cooperative governance: a paired case comparison of vegetable growing cooperatives in the UK and China

Farmers’ collective action via cooperatives is critical to achieving a wide range of economic and social benefits that lead to sustainable development and enhance the welfare of rural communities. Adopting a qualitative case study method, the paper compares the development and governance attributes of two cooperatives and seeks to identify how non-economic conditions explain their differences. The cases are selected from the United Kingdom and China, representing different cultural and legislation contexts, to explore the role of culture and legislation in formulating the governance of farmer cooperatives. The results demonstrate that: (1) the formation of member groups due to considerable member heterogeneity may lead to the skewed allocation of control rights and income rights; (2) legislation play an important role in formulating the governance of cooperatives; and (3) national culture potentially has influence on cooperative governance, but direct evidence is in insufficient.

Property, ownership and employee ownership: employee control in ESOPs

PurposeMost people associate ownership with the ability to control something. In the USA, employee share (or stock) ownership plans (ESOPs) are one of the principal forms of employee ownership. However, most ESOPs give employees very limited rights of control over the company they own. This paper explore this conflict by examining theories of property and ownership to determine whether the right to participate in decision-making is inherent in the idea of ownership as it is generally understood. Ultimately, the author argues that the law governing ESOPs should be revised to give employees a larger role in the governance of their companies.Design/methodology/approachThis paper considers the concept of ownership both historically and analytically. The author examines the roots of property theory in the work of John Locke and contemporary theorists, as well as contemporary theorizing about ownership.FindingsThere are two kinds of ownership: legal ownership and psychological ownership. In legal ownership, the right to participation is inherent but alienable, so one can legally be an owner of something but have no right of participation. Psychological ownership primarily arises from a sense of control. Legal ownership confers some part of the bundle of rights associated with property. Psychological ownership conveys a feeling of efficacy, responsibility and control, but no formal rights. The author argues that, for employee ownership to be more than mere property-holding, it must include meaningful participation in decision-making, including governance.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is only concerned with ESOPs in the USA. Although the findings may be applicable, it does not address other forms of employee ownership or employee ownership outside of the USA.Practical implicationsPeople associate ownership with the ability to control something, so when workers are told they own their company but then find they have few control rights, it may undermine their sense of ownership. This then has negative implications for the company's success. To ensure meaningful levels of governance rights, policy-makers should revise the laws governing ESOPs to require greater involvement by employees.Social implicationsClarifying ambiguities around ownership will help support arguments for affording employee-owners greater control rights in their companies, which will have various spill-over effects.Originality/valuePractitioners and scholars alike deploy the term, “ownership” but ascribe different meanings to it. The distinction between legal and psychological ownership is largely lacking in the ESOP literature. Clarifying this distinction will help to move the discussion forward regarding employee participation in ESOPs. In addition, the paper provides an original analysis of property that demonstrates the importance of the right to control, showing that the traditional ESOP structure may violate important aspects of that right.

Stiffing the creditor: Asset verifiability and bankruptcy

Evidence suggests that asset pledgeability, debt complexity, and control rights of dispersed debt influence financial distress resolution. We model how courts’ imperfect verifiability of assets and valuable control of misaligned creditors shape firms’ debt structure and create coordination problems that determine distress outcomes and financing. A key result is that an increase in verifiability allows financially constrained firms to fund projects by pledging more assets to misaligned creditors, making contract renegotiation in distress times more difficult and increasing the probability of bankruptcy. Since equity receives less in the event of distress, constrained firms choose riskier projects with higher returns. Consistent with our model, bankruptcy filings increase after the U.S. Supreme Court decision imposing a “market test” to assess the value of stockholders’ interest in debtor proposals. The effect is stronger for firms with low asset verifiability. These firms also experienced an increase in recovery rates, debt capacity, and risk-taking. Our findings suggest that reforms improving the verifiability of assets substantially impact credit access. However, our results also point out that improving asset verifiability may be insufficient for constrained firms with aligned creditors. Therefore, complementary reforms that facilitate firms’ access to creditors from different market segments may be necessary.

Sosialisasi Kebijakan Pengadaan Tanah Bagi Pembangunan Dalam Perspektif Reformasi Agraria

The right to control from the state is a right that at the highest level is controlled by the state as an organization of power for all the people. This right gives the state authority as stated in Article 2 paragraph (2) of the UUPA. However, these various regulations and policies at the level of implementation do not harm the principles of the rights of the Indonesian people. The presence of the Job Creation Law which regulates land acquisition for development is considered pragmatic, more oriented towards investment and economic interests so it is considered to ignore the ideals and rights as well as the spirit of agrarian reform that favours the interests of farmers. The right of control of this state builds relations between the state and the nation, namely a kind of customary rights relationship that is raised at the highest level, namely the level that affects the entire territory of the country. The meaning of being controlled by the state contained in Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution is not explicitly formulated in its explanation. This allows the emergence of various interpretations of the meaning of this service trying to socialize land acquisition policies in the context of agrarian reform.

Strategic Disclosure and Debt Covenant Violation

ABSTRACT This study examines how managers change their forecasting behavior as a debt covenant violation (DCV) approaches. We find that management forecasts are more optimistic in the quarter before a DCV, and this result is stronger when firms face a higher risk of shifting control rights to lenders in the event of a DCV. Furthermore, we find that managers combine their forecast optimism with actions that are favorable to shareholders but would likely be curtailed by lenders after the DCV. Last, we find managers who are more optimistic in their forecasts are less likely to be replaced after a DCV. Overall, our results are consistent with managers changing their disclosure behavior in an attempt to reduce lenders' awareness of an impending DCV, and thus, buy themselves time to take actions favorable to equity investors.

Institutions and inward foreign direct investment in the primary sectors

PurposeWell-functioning institutions are repeatedly claimed to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) by reducing the costs and uncertainty of economic activity. Nonetheless, it has been argued that institutions may matter less for FDI in the primary sector. This study aims to theoretically and empirically investigate the role of institutions for attracting FDI in agricultural and in extractive activities.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses worldwide country and sector-level data on inward FDI for the period 1996–2007. The key independent variables, property rights protection, corruption and democracy, are measured using World Bank Governance Indicators and Polity IV as data sources. Fixed effect panel regression, Tobit regression and generalized method of moments are used for data analysis.FindingsThe authors corroborate the importance of institutions for aggregate FDI. Disaggregating by primary subsector, the authors find that agricultural FDI, like aggregate FDI, is attracted by institutional features such as rule of law and property rights protection and democracy, whereas extractive FDI is not. The authors also find some evidence that corruption deters FDI in both primary subsectors.Originality/valueThe authors take a first step toward linking the largely empirical institutions-FDI literature more closely with the economics-based theoretical discussions of FDI risk grounded on a property rights approach, to discuss issues such as effective control rights over investments, which may vary between sectors. The authors also explore a novel idea that extractive activities may be less sensitive to institutions because the time horizon is limited by the depletion of the resource, resulting in an inherently relatively short-term commitment to a host-country location.

Excess control rights in family firms: A socioemotional wealth perspective

AbstractResearch Question/IssueThis study attempts to uncover a hidden benefit of shareholders' excess control rights in family firms by examining whether excess control rights can reduce the likelihood of financial misconduct in family firms, compared with nonfamily firms.Research Findings/InsightsWe argue that excess control rights are especially useful for family‐owned firms, compared with firms with other types of ownership, in preventing financial misconduct. They afford family owners the ability to guard against misconduct that can damage the founder's legacy and reduce the family's socioemotional wealth. We also investigate two boundary conditions, the presence of a family member as the board chair and the family's public visibility, that validate our proposed theoretical mechanism. In these scenarios, the family owner's socioemotional wealth is particularly high and could be impacted severely by misconduct. Results from a sample of 2516 publicly traded firms in China support our theory.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsOur study challenges traditional agency theory about excess control rights by exploring the potential of excess control rights to mitigate principal–agent problems and prevent financial misconduct in family firms.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsRegulators who make decisions to forbid or permit excess shareholder control in publicly listed firms must be aware that excess shareholder control could deter financial misconduct in family firms.

Remunicipalization, corporatization, and outsourcing: the performance of public-sector firms after reorganization

This article investigates the impact of reorganization on productivity within public-sector firms addressing the owners' composition, the board-management relationship, and the management's decision to outsource activities. Considering a large panel of 2,325 German municipally owned utilities between 2003 and 2014, firm-level productivity is estimated based on a control function approach. Contrary to public choice theory, I do not find support for the hypothesis that an increase in government owners' control over the firm, either through shares or the board's control rights, decreases productivity. Looking at reorganization invoked by the management, I find that outsourcing increases productivity, where effects are strongest for service outsourcing.