Geographic Diversification Research Articles

Phylogenomics of arboreal alligator lizards shed light on the geographical diversification of cloud forest‐adapted biotas

AbstractAimThe proximate ecological and evolutionary processes underlying the high biodiversity of neotropical montane cloud forests are still very poorly understood. Climatic oscillations may have contributed to vicariance and cladogenesis, but also promoted secondary contact and erosion of genetic divergence. Here we tested whether geographical diversification – or its lack thereof – in a complex of arboreal alligator lizards is explained by range shifts during Quaternary climatic oscillations.LocationPine–oak and cloud forests, central Mexico.TaxonAbronia taeniata–gramineaspecies complex (Squamata: Anguidae: Gerrhonotinae).MethodsWe generated genomic data (ddRADseq) to infer patterns of geographical diversification in the complex, reconstruct its demographic history, estimate the timing of lineage split, and test for the presence of contemporary and/or historical hybridization. We evaluated whether the tempo and mode of diversification (i.e. strict isolation vs. secondary contact with introgression) are explained by the contemporary distribution of suitable habitats and/or range shifts experienced by the complex since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), as inferred from environmental niche modelling (ENM).ResultsGenomic data supported a marked genetic structure within the complex, and phylogenomic and dating analyses revealed cryptic lineage diversification starting at the onset of the Pleistocene followed by secondary contact with limited introgression. ENM pointed to considerable range expansions of the complex during the LGM and a marked fragmentation and scarce connectivity among contemporary populations, which was supported by genomic‐based demographic reconstructions.Main ConclusionsThe geographical diversification of the complex has been moulded by vicariant events promoted by Pleistocene geologic and climatic changes impacting the distribution of their pine–oak and cloud forest habitats. Our data supported a model of divergence with introgression, indicating that pulses of population fragmentation and expansion during the Quaternary have led to multiple opportunities for both allopatric isolation and secondary contact.

What makes firms vulnerable to the Russia–Ukraine crisis?

PurposeThis study examines the impact of the Russia–Ukraine war on the constituent firms of the leading stock market indices of the G7 countries to provide insights into the vulnerability of firms to war events.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs the event study method on a sample of 531 firms covering the period from 02 March 2021 to 08 March 2022 and conducts a cross-sectional analysis of cumulative abnormal returns and country- and firm-specific variables.FindingsRisk exposure and trade dependence trigger invasion-generated negative abnormal returns. The authors demonstrate that stock prices are fragile to geopolitical risks and trade dependence. Consistent with previous literature, the authors find evidence of a size anomaly and high risk associated with a higher book-to-market ratio.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has implications for policymakers identifying the firm-specific variables driving event-induced returns. While providing insights into the geographical diversification of funds, this study shows the heterogeneous characteristics of firms operating in these countries.Originality/valuePrevious studies on the Russia–Ukraine war have been limited to analyzing the behavior of leading stock market indices without examining firm-level variations triggered by the war. This study fills this gap and contributes to the growing literature on the Russia–Ukraine crisis in two ways: first, it provides firm-level evidence from the G7 countries in addition to how global stock market indices have reacted to the invasion and second, it uses cross-sectional analysis to provide evidence of the characteristics that make firms resilient to wars.HighlightsWe are the first to report firm-level evidence of the Russia–Ukraine war effectsFirms in France and the United States are unaffectedStock prices are fragile to geopolitical risks and considerable dependence on tradeHigher book-to-market exposes the firms to the risk of exogenous shocksSmaller firms outperform large firms in the G7 stock markets

Geographical diversification using ETFs: Multinational evidence from COVID-19 pandemic

We examine the relations between dollar flows of U.S. listed ETFs with exposure to the U.S., Europe, Asia, and the rest of the world following an emergency like the COVID-19 crisis. Using a Markov Switching Model (MSVAR), we find evidence that investors use ETFs to gain exposure to foreign markets and swiftly adjust their portfolio's allocation in response to the change in the number of COVID-19 infected people in every location. We further extend our study to ETFs listed in the U.S., Europe, and Asia and investigate the change in foreign and domestic money flow, before and after the pandemic. We show that investors around the world rebalance their portfolios by monitoring the countries’ performance in controlling the pandemic. Our findings show that while investors in the U.S. and Asian countries direct their money to domestic funds and reduce their foreign investment following the pandemic, European investors increase foreign investment and reduce home bias. This is consistent with the flight-to-safety effect when investors shift their asset allocation away from riskier investments (here riskier locations) and into safer ones during the adverse economic shock.

Statism as a lifestyle: deciphering society in films on North Korea and evolving communication through cinema

ABSTRACT This article concerns a core distinctive representation portrayed in North Korean films, namely statism grounded in Juche ideology in the context of the evolution of cinema on North Korea. The paper examines, from an outsider's point of view, how the cinema represents statism that is embedded in the daily life of North Korean people, paying greater attention to two films, Comrade Kim Goes Flying and A School Girl's Dairy, by exploring the patterns of the plot, storylines, texts, and main messages. Furthermore, it discusses the disparity between foreign and domestic films on North Korea that exists in such representation. The evolution of North Korean cinema demonstrates noticeable adaptation, a gradual move away from overt propaganda, despite the fact that autonomous cultural space is extremely limited due to the oppressive political system and ideological rigidity. Such dynamics, albeit limited, occurred throughout the Kim Jong Il era in parallel with an effort to strengthen the foundation of statism lain by Kim Il Sung. More recently, it has continued in the Kim Jong Un era, due to an increasingly uncontrollable influx of external culture and ideas, as well as geographical diversification in North Korean cinema production, from the US to Europe and the rest of the world. More communication and interaction may contribute to the modernization of filmmaking in North Korea, which may in turn enhance understanding of the country and people.

Analysis of Export Diversification and Impact of Globalisation on Income Inequality: Evidence from Asian Countries

ABSTRACT Due to the importance of product and geographical diversification of exports, the gravity equation was used to predict export diversification for 19 Asian countries from 2004 to 2017 and the System Generalised Method of Moments was used to analyse the dynamic impact of globalisation at the disaggregated level of the diversification of sectoral exports and the goods specialisation on income inequalities. The results show that sectoral diversification of exports is the driving force of inequality. Furthermore, increased diversification of exports in the highly-income countries of Asia increases inequality and has little impact on low-income countries in Asia.

A földrajzi tér által kínált kockázatcsökkentési lehetőségek magyarországi perspektívából

This study illustrates the effectiveness of geographical diversification using mainly domestic and foreign capital market data. The paper uses twenty-five years of historical capital market prices to show how the neglect of geographical diversification results in a deterioration in investment decision-making. The study shows that even the world’s largest capital markets are worth investing in cross-border capital markets because geographical spatiality can offer significant diversification benefits.

How geographic diversification affects corporate social responsibility? The moderating effects of ownership and environmental regulation.

As a popular strategy for firms to spread risk and reduce cost, geographic diversification might lead to more pressure from multidimensional stakeholders such as government, customer, and environment, which would inevitably affect the corporate social responsibility (CSR). With the data of Chinese A-share listed firms from 2011 to 2017, our empirical results verify that there is a significantly positive correlation between CSR and geographic diversification within China. Moreover, this correlation varies with corporate ownership and environmental regulation. The state-owned firms and those under lower environmental regulation will encounter significantly higher influence from the geographic diversification strategy. Our research has significant managerial implication for CSR in not only China, but also other countries with similar ownership structure and strongly unbalanced institutional environment.

The flow-performance relationship of global investment funds

We study how globalization affects the response of mutual fund flows to past performance. For that purpose, we use a novel data set on bond funds from the internationalized Luxembourg fund industry. We find that flows into global funds, i.e. funds issuing shares in several currencies, are more sensitive to past performance than flows to domestic funds, i.e. funds distributing shares in mainly one currency. Moreover, global funds exhibit a higher flow sensitivity to low and high performance, while flows to domestic funds are more reactive to medium performance. These results are robust to using alternative measures of globalization to define domestic and global funds, like the geographical diversification in the distribution of shares and the geographical and currency diversification in the asset portfolio. Thus, the globalization dimension of mutual funds, largely neglected by related studies, raises the sensitivity of flows to past performance and needs to be considered by supervisory authorities.

Development of human capital and the economy in Azerbaijan in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war

This paper aimed to empirically substantiate strategies for developing human capital (HC) and the economy in Azerbaijan during the Russian-Ukrainian war conflict (RUWC). Using the method of expert assessments, key indicators reflecting the development trends of the national economy and human capital are substantiated. Based on the construction of regression models and the elasticity index, the nature and consequences of the RUMC on the national economy and the HC of Azerbaijan have been analyzed. By hierarchical classification, we have determined the effective economic development strategies and HC in Azerbaijan during and after RUWC: increasing economic diversification, reducing part of the oil and gas sector in GDP, the development of the agro-industrial complex, the geographical diversification of imports and exports, and the strategy for IT development, providing comfortable conditions and tax preferences for IT businesses, legislative settlement of issues investment and activities of venture funds to attract IT-specialists for different countries.

Supply Shocks in Supply Chains: Evidence from the Early Lockdown in China

How do firms in global value chains react to input shortages? We examine micro-level adjustments to supply chain shocks, building on the Covid-19 pandemic as a case study. French firms sourcing inputs from China just before the early lockdown in the country experienced a relative drop in imports that increases from February to April 2020. This shock on input purchases transmits to the rest of the supply chain through exposed firm’s domestic and export sales. Between February and June, firms exposed to the Chinese early lockdown experienced a 5.5% drop in domestic sales and a 5% drop in exports, in relative terms with respect to comparable non-exposed firms. The drop in foreign sales is entirely attributable to a lower volume of exports driven by a temporary withdrawal from occasional markets. We then dig into the heterogeneity of the transmission across treated firms. Whereas the ex-ante geographic diversification of inputs does not seem to mitigate the impact of the shock, firms with relatively high inventories have been able to absorb the supply shock better.

International Expansion and Firm Growth in Domestic Markets: Family Versus Non-Family Firms

This study examines the effects of international expansion on domestic growth in family firms (FFs) versus non-FFs. Integrating international business research into socioemotional wealth (SEW) theory, we argue that FFs seek to compensate for SEW losses (as implied by foreign direct investments) with SEW gains (associated with domestic growth). We claim that FFs are less prone to substitute home businesses with foreign activities and more likely to move back resources to foster domestic growth. Geographical diversification and modes of entry foster FFs’ domestic growth to an even greater extent. A test conducted on Italian firms supports these hypothesized effects.

Customer-Country diversification and inventory efficiency: Comparative evidence from the manufacturing sector during the pre-pandemic and the COVID-19 pandemic periods

This study empirically examines the impact of geographic customer diversification on inventory efficiency and proposes a customer-country diversification strategy as a central element of U.S. manufacturing firms’ effort to transform their global supply chains in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using industry-level data during the pre-pandemic period (2003–2018) and the COVID-19 pandemic, this study finds that a geographically diversified customer base significantly reduced inventory efficiency during the pre-pandemic period, but increased inventory efficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our finding suggests that U.S. manufacturing firms may be able to reduce negative impacts on inventory in a global pandemic and achieve greater inventory efficiency if they can target global customer bases with demand characteristics less correlated with U.S. domestic demand.

Increasing or Diversifying Risk? Tail Correlations, Transmission Flows and Prices across Wind Power Areas

As wind power costs have declined, capacity has grown quickly, often times in adjacent areas. Price and volatility risk from wind power’s intermittency can be mitigated through geographic diversification and transmission. But wind power generation has a fat-tailed and right-skewed distribution. In this article we investigate how geographic diversification of wind power and the effect of wind power on market prices varies across the distribution of production. In a case study from Denmark and Sweden, we show that during tail-end production periods, correlations between areas increase substantially as does congestion in the transmission network. This leads to highly non-linear price effects. The marginal effect of wind power on the local prices is shown to be substantially higher at the 10th decile of wind power production. This has implications for valuation models of wind power projects and for operations of electricity markets with high penetrations of wind power.

Diversification of South American Vespertilionidae (Chiroptera) is not constrained by evolutionary priority effects

Abstract According to diversity-dependent diversification (DDD) theory, diversification slows down as niches are gradually filled by cladogenesis. A corollary of DDD is to assume a richness ceiling, a contentious topic for continental clades. Evolutionary priority effect is a related phenomenon whereby secondary colonizers have their diversification constrained owing to pre-emption of niches by incumbent groups. South American aerial insectivorous bats are composed of incumbent, non-Vespertilionidae groups (SA non-vesper) and the later immigrant Vespertilionidae (SA vesper). We investigated whether DDD and priority effects explain SA vesper diversification history, while also comparing it with North/Central American vespertilionids (NA vesper), an incumbent lineage in that region. Diversification analysis supported a single regime of diversification rates across all groups, with little decrease through time. Geographical state diversification of vespertilionids selected a best-fitting model with different speciation rates for NA endemics, SA endemics and widespread species, but equal extinction. The model presented higher speciation for SA endemics over NA endemics. Thus, DDD and priority effects are inconsistent with the diversification of South American aerial insectivorous bats. We discuss how SA vesper are comparatively depauperate, probably because of a shorter evolutionary history and/or cryptic diversity when compared with NA vesper, instead of niche conservatism.

How does Internationalisation affect the productivity of R&D activities in large innovative firms? A conditional nonparametric investigation

This work explores the relationship between multinational R&D and innovation productivity among top corporate knowledge and R&D producers by adopting a twofold concept of internationalisation: (1) the firm’s degree of R&D internationalisation, and (2) the firm’s geographic diversification. We model the patent production process with an appropriate and robust conditional Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) estimator, using a unique database of firms that matches financial indicators and patent information. Our results reinforce the fundamental role of internationalisation in the knowledge production process when the internationalisation process is properly and strategically managed. We interpret our empirical evidence through the theoretical lens of the learning theory of internationalisation, and we postulate that a high R&D intensity is a key driver to overcoming the challenges of internationalisation.

A new early branching armored dinosaur from the Lower Jurassic of southwestern China.

The early evolutionary history of the armored dinosaurs (Thyreophora) is obscured by their patchily distributed fossil record and by conflicting views on the relationships of Early Jurassic taxa. Here, we describe an early diverging thyreophoran from the Lower Jurassic Fengjiahe Formation of Yunnan Province, China, on the basis of an associated partial skeleton that includes skull, axial, limb, and armor elements. It can be diagnosed as a new taxon based on numerous cranial and postcranial autapomorphies and is further distinguished from all other thyreophorans by a unique combination of character states. Although the robust postcranium is similar to that of more deeply nested ankylosaurs and stegosaurs, phylogenetic analysis recovers it as either the sister taxon of Emausaurus or of the clade Scelidosaurus+ Eurypoda. This new taxon, Yuxisaurus kopchicki, represents the first valid thyreophoran dinosaur to be described from the Early Jurassic of Asia and confirms the rapid geographic spread and diversification of the clade after its first appearance in the Hettangian. Its heavy build and distinctive armor also hint at previously unrealized morphological diversity early in the clade's history.

Colonization rather than fragmentation explains the geographical distribution and diversification of treefrogs endemic to Brazilian shield sky islands

AbstractAimGeographical patterns of montane biodiversity worldwide are related to biotic and abiotic factors, such as historical climate dynamics and species dispersal capabilities, which affect the biota from population to community levels. Understanding of processes related to population diversification in extra‐Andean Neotropical mountains remains largely unknown. Here, we tested how colonization of new areas as opposed to fragmentation of geographical ranges influenced the distribution and diversification of frogs from Brazilian mountains.LocationEspinhaço Range, the largest extra‐Andean mountain range in South America.TaxonLedge treefrog Bokermannohyla saxicola.MethodsWe used multilocus DNA and morphometric data throughout the species' distribution to delimit lineages, infer phylogenetic relationships and estimate divergence times. We used ecological niche modelling (ENM) and approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) to reconstruct changes of geographical distribution and population sizes for testing alternative hypotheses of diversification concerning fragmentation and colonization.ResultsWe found four evolutionary significant lineages that diverged from the Pliocene to the Early Pleistocene. All lineages were validated by DNA and morphometric data by independent and joint analyses. ENM showed that climatic fluctuations might have influenced the species' distribution, whereas ABC model selection further supports associated demographic changes. Taken together, a Pleistocene jump‐dispersal scenario best explains the diversification of the Bokermannohyla saxicola lineages.Main conclusionsEndemism in the Espinhaço Range is usually explained by ancient diversification, associated with long‐term isolation of climatic stable areas following climate‐driven habitat fragmentation. Our results challenge this general view, indicating recent diversification, habitat expansion and colonization of new areas as important processes explaining the current distribution and genetic diversity of B. saxicola.

Can tourism market diversification mitigate the adverse effects of a blockade on tourism? Evidence from Qatar

This study examines the effects of an unfavorable political event or environmental hostility, namely, a blockade affecting international tourist inflows, and how tourism market diversification (TMD) could mitigate the adverse effects in the case of Qatar. To quantify these effects, we adopted a standard tourism-demand model and augmented it with a Herfindahl index (HI) for the geographical diversification of tourism exports, a dummy variable for the blockade, and an interaction variable. We further analyzed the tourist inflows from various regions using regional dummies and their interaction terms to capture the different impacts of the blockade on Qatar’s inbound tourists from 46 source countries between 2006 and 2019. This study applied a panel-based differenced system-generalized method-of-moments estimation to reveal several interesting findings. First, there was a significant positive individual effect of TMD on inbound tourism. Second, during the blockade, Qatar witnessed growing tourist inflows from Asia and Australasia, the Americas, and Europe. However, the incident inevitably placed severe constraints on some tourist flows to Qatar, primarily from Middle Eastern and African countries. Moreover, although the HI has a positive impact on tourism growth, our study revealed that the interaction terms between the HI and the blockade are only statistically significant in some cases, implying that a diversification strategy cannot completely mitigate the harmful effects of a blockade on tourism due to the severity of blockade effect. Nevertheless, a TMD strategy appears to be successful at the individual level.

Impact of Corporate Diversification on Sustainability of Listed Health Care Firms in Nigeria

This study was carried out on impact of corporate diversification on the sustainability of healthcare companies in Nigeria. To determine the relationship between corporate diversification and organizational sustainability, corporate diversification was measured using geographic diversification (GEODIV), operational diversification (OPDIV), and product diversification (PRODIV), while sustainability, on the other hand, was measured using Kinder Lydenberg Domini (KLD) rating system on social-environmental performance. Ex post facto design was used and the data were collected from the annual reports and accounts of the listed healthcare companies in Nigeria for the period up to 2016-2020. The OLS model was used in the data analysis and the results of the study show that geographic diversification, operational diversification & product diversification have positive and a significant effect on corporate sustainability at a significant level of 1%. Therefore, the study concluded that corporate diversification ensures organizational sustainability in Nigeria. Hence, the study recommended that business organizations should engage in diversification (GEODIV, OPDIV & PRODIV) as this ensures organizational sustainability. Hence, proper management of diversification decisions is required, as over-diversification could lead to a deterioration in the company's financial performance.

How Does the Sustainable Investment Climate Affect Firm Geographic Diversification in China? Managerial Discretion as a Mediator

Although existing research has explored the main effects of the sustainable investment climate, including political and legal environments, on the performance of firms' geographic diversification, most studies neglect the role of strategic leadership, especially the CEO. The concept of managerial discretion provides a theoretical lens to fill this void. Using a large database from the Investment Climate Survey conducted by The World Bank, which covers 12400 firms from 120 cities among China’s 30 provinces, we empirically prove that the investment climate, including governmental, legal, and financial environments, significantly influence the degree of CEO managerial discretion. Moreover, CEO managerial discretion is positively associated with firm geographic diversification and mediates the relationship between the investment climate and firm geographic diversification. Specifically, the greater the CEO managerial discretion, the lower degree of firm investment within the city and the province in which it is headquartered and the higher level of the firm’s internationalization. Implications for firms’ geographic diversification and constructing a sustainable investment climate for emerging markets are finally given.