Political Business Research Articles

Implementing IFRS and Corporate Governance in Greece: The Case of Proton Bank

During the last two decades many initiatives have taken place in Greece in order to create a more comparable, compatible and isomorphic business environment. These initiatives (IFRS introduction, corporate governance best practices, monitoring and auditing reforms, etc.) weren’t efficient enough, not by designers fault but because they weren’t appropriate for the fundamental characteristic of the social, political, legal and economic business environment of Greece. The paper, using the Proton bank case, shows these inefficiencies and highlights the fallacies of the policy makers in Greece. Proton Bank was a scandal that due to the turmoil of the crisis in Greece hasn’t caught the attention that its costs and implications should provide.

Beyond Corporate Social Responsibility: Public Value and the Business of Politics

Recent accounts of the changing role of business have identified a shift from corporate social responsibility tospecifically political roles. This paper examines the relevance of Mark Moore’s theory of Public Value (1995) asa decision-making framework for these new roles. After providing an account of the original theory, we explorehow it can be deployed as a prescriptive tool based upon Moore’s (1995) account of public goods, virtue ethicsand an account of civic virtue we derive from the theory. The discussion invites critical reflection upon thechanging roles of business, specifically the distinction between public and private organisations.

Irreproducible Experimental Results

> [T]he work of science has nothing whatever to do with consensus. Consensus is the business of politics. Science, on the contrary, requires only one investigator who happens to be right, which means that he or she has results that are verifiable by reference to the real world. In science consensus is irrelevant. What is relevant is reproducible results. > > —Michael Crichton, from “Aliens Cause Global Warming,” a lecture given at California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, January 17, 20031 > Trust everybody, but cut the cards. > > —Finley Peter Dunne, 19th century American journalist2 Experimental reproducibility is the coin of the scientific realm. The extent to which measurements or observations agree when performed by different individuals defines this important tenet of the scientific method. The formal essence of experimental reproducibility was born of the philosophy of logical positivism or logical empiricism, which purports to gain knowledge of the world through the use of formal logic linked to observation.3 A key principle of logical positivism is verificationism, which holds that every truth is verifiable by experience. In this rational context, truth is defined by reproducible experience, and unbiased scientific observation and determinism are its underpinnings. From a more practical perspective, reproducibility is a means by which to reduce the tentative nature of an initial scientific observation. The implicit assumptions of tests of reproducibility are that, if an initial observation is found to be reproducible, then it must be true; and if an initial observation is found not to be reproducible, then it must be false. Although the logic of these concepts is unimpeachable, we should not conflate scientific truth and reproducibility. As Jonah Lehrer pointed out recently, “Just because an idea is true doesn't mean it can be proved. And just because an idea can be proved doesn't mean it's true. When the experiments are done, we still have to choose what to believe.”4 The assumption that objectively true scientific observations must be reproducible is implicit, yet direct tests …

Political influence on economic decision-making in government-owned companies: From the perspectives of key players

This study assessed the perspectives of key players on political influence in government-owned companies. The purpose was to provide in-depth or detailed understanding of political influence in such companies and how political influence affects company economic decision-making. Data was collected via face-to-face interviews based on open ended questions. A total sample of twenty-four top management personnel of listed and non-listed government-owned companiesparticipated in the interviews. The findings provided considerable insights into the actual relationship between governments, politicians/ board of directors and managers in government-owned companies. The findings revealed a difference between the level of political influence in federal government-owned companies and the state government-owned companies. State government owners appeared to have greater direct involvement in their companies compared to federally-owned companies which are more likely to have an arms’ length relationship with the shareholding government. The findings also showed the effects of political influence on decisions connected to corporate governance, accounting and reporting. Key words: Political influence, government-owned companies, politics in business.

Interest mobilization in public health and social insurance: Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico in comparative perspective

One revealing test for gauging the extent to which pluralist democracy has advanced in the recently (re)democratized countries of Latin America is to determine the extent to which interest groups have come to participate in policy making in formal, open, extensive, and accepted ways as they mostly do in advanced liberal democracies. In other words, is this a new era or more of the same? To provide insights into this question, using six hypotheses, this article compares social insurance reform in Argentina and Mexico, and public health reform in Colombia.It appears that the political processes through which the reforms were adopted were fairly democratic, although aspects of the old regimes in all three countries, particularly corporatist relationships, were indispensable backups. The weaknesses that were apparent, however, stem less from the old ways of doing political business and more from the immaturity of the democratic process. Plus, pressures were felt by the executive branches and their allies to show to the international community that their country was a safe place in which to invest. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Multidisciplinary Curriculum to Teaching English Language in Sudanese Institutions (A Case Study)

Teachers in Sudan usually teach one subject in isolation, in other words they use the disciplinary approach. Stake holders recently are questioning the efficiency of the use of more than one discipline. It appears that clarification of a problem or discussing topics needs to relate different aspects together and that by melting various disciplines in one pawl to enable students to think critically and to have the ability to use the proper analogy and analysis of a concepts of their universe or the content under study. Teaching English language needs to integrate knowledge and contents. Designing a curriculum or a programme that help bringing different disciplines homogeneously to better educate students .It requires syllabus designers to design a program that incorporates the appropriate aspects of history, religion, politics business, communication, and other sciences that meet the objectives of the content being taught. This study builds a rationale for the combining different disciplines of the curriculum to be taught in Sudanese Institutions. Finally, this paper discusses small scale of a project that has melt more than one aspects of different contents, subjects and concepts and it has been implemented through problem solving method.

La política de las empresas en Latinoamérica: investigando sus estructuras, preferencias e influencia

The article surveys the study of Latin American business politics, focusing on three main areas: The structure of business, the preferences of business, and its power in the political process. The structure of businesses in Latin America is distinct, with a larger share of small and informal firms, comparatively small large firms, and a dominant​ role of multinational corporations (MNCs) and economic groups. We argue that these structures are reflected in business preferences. MNCs’ preferences depend on their strategic orientation, whether they invest in Latin America in order to gain access to resources, to new markets, or to enhance their global productivity. Business groups are often particularly strong in non-competitive industries – resources, oligopolistic non-tradables etc. - and are highly flexible due to hierarchical management and large cash reserves. As a result, they are well equipped to deal with a rapidly changing businesses environment and were, surprisingly to many observers, unlikely to oppose the external liberalization policies of the 1990s. Small firms have little political cloud, but since many of them are informal, they do not play an important part as a voice for flexibilization, especially of labor markets, the way they do in many advanced industrialized countries. Large firms have various avenues to influence political processes in Latin America. Business leaders are well represented in governments and are often included in advisory councils which can play crucial roles in affecting policy. The formal structure of political systems – Presidential systems with proportional representation in parliaments – further enhance the power of business, as individual legislators are often targeted for legislative deal-making. The region’s expensive political campaigns, funded by a small number of large donors, are yet another source for business power of the political process. Looking ahead, we argue that many of these features of Latin American businesses and business politics are likely to be quite stable and if anything increase in intensity. Keywords: Latin America; business politics; business power; economic groups; multinational corporations; small firms; literature review.

On the Ethics of International Religious/Spiritual Gatherings and Academic Conferencing in the Era of Global Warming: A Case Study of the Parliament of The World’s Religions Melbourne 2009 - Part 1

Global climate change and its impacts have ethical dimensions, for instance carbon footprint equity concerns. World issues, including the state of the ecosphere and biodiver­sity, regularly see political leaders, NGOs, business representatives, religious/spiritual orga­nizations, academics, and others engage in international aviation-dependent meetings to address critical challenges facing humanity and the planet. Yet, climate scientists and advocates call for an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 to cap the increase in global temperatures to 2ºC. Aviation emissions resulting from international meetings raise questions that are not silenced by GHG emissions offsetting. The era of climate change and ‘peak oil’ poses ethical challenges for holding international in-person religious and academic events, especially when the events propound an environmentalist concern and when aviation use is assumed. This paper raises ques­tions regarding the ecological impacts of large international events and focuses the ‘inconvenient truths’ associated with international aviation in the era of global warming. The Parliament of the World’s Religions, the largest multifaith gathering in the world, serves as a case study. The paper emphasizes the view that faith-based/faith-inspired organizations have a special responsibility for leadership in policy and praxis on the moral imperatives of sustainability, sustainable development and climate justice.

Business Power and Protest: Argentina’s Agricultural Producers Protest in Comparative Context

The rare but important phenomenon of business protest has not been adequately addressed in either literature on contentious politics or literature on business politics. Using Argentina’s 2008 agricultural producers’ protests as an illustration, this paper develops the concept of business protest and situates it within the classic framework of business’ instrumental power, exercised through political actions, and structural power, arising from individual profit-maximizing behavior. Business protest entails public and/or disruptive collective action in either the economic arena or the societal arena. Business actors are most likely to consider protest in order to defend their core interests when their structural power is weak and when they lack sources of instrumental power that enhance the effectiveness of ordinary political actions like lobbying. I apply the business power and protest framework to explain the Argentine producers’ failure to influence export tax policy from 2002 through early 2008 and the emergence of protest against a 2008 tax increase. I then examine how the producers’ protests contributed to the reform’s repeal. The producers’ protests are an exceptional example of business protest in which the participants lacked key organizational resources that facilitate collective action.

Big City Mayors: Political Specialization and Business Domination in the 19Th and 20Th Centuries

ABSTRACT:An examination of mayoral recruitment in 19 major American cities from 1820 to 1995 finds that mayors are now more likely to have prior political experience, serve longer in office, and have previously served on city councils. They are also less likely to come from business backgrounds, and those mayors who are still in business are less likely to have big business and manufacturing backgrounds. A multivariate analysis of mayors serving between 1870 and 1995 indicates that mayors from business backgrounds are less likely to be selected when their cities have partisan elections, when their cities have a large African American population, and when mayors are machine candidates. This analysis also finds that the number of mayors with business backgrounds declines as the number of college graduates increases, even though (after 1896) political machines disappeared and more cities adopted reform (council manager and commission) governments.

Electing Chávez: The Business of Anti-Neoliberal Politics in Venezuela. By Leslie C. Gates. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2010. 216p. $24.95.

Electing Chávez: The Business of Anti-Neoliberal Politics in Venezuela. By Leslie C. Gates. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2010. 216p. $24.95.

The risks and returns of new public management: political business

PurposeThis article aims to consider success in terms of the financial returns and risks of new public management (NPM) in state‐owned enterprises (SOEs).Design/methodology/approachFinancial returns of New Zealand SOEs were examined through a review of their annual reports over a five‐year period. Dimensions of risk were examined through interviews conducted in two phases over a two‐year period with senior executives from 12 of the (then) 17 SOEs operating in New Zealand.FindingsFindings indicate the potential for SOEs to operate as profitable government investments, with clear support for positive financial returns under NPM. However, variations noted within individual SOEs also indicate that profitable and commercial operations may not be possible in all cases. An examination of the risks associated with SOEs' operations reveals a number of dimensions of risk, encompassing financial, political (including regulatory), reputational, and public accountability aspects.Practical implicationsThere is a need for an enhanced awareness on the part of internal and external stakeholders (such as the government and general public) of the risks SOEs face in pursuing higher levels of profitability. Also required, is a more acute understanding on the part of internal and external stakeholders (e.g. government and the public) of the need for SOEs to manage the range of risks identified, given the potentially delicate balance between risk and return.Originality/valueWhile previous studies have considered the financial returns of SOEs, or the risks faced by the public sector in terms of accountability, few have addressed the two issues collectively in a single context.

Electing Chávez: The Business of Anti-Neoliberal Politics in Venezuela

Electing Chávez: The Business of Anti-Neoliberal Politics in Venezuela

Electing Chavez: The Business of Anti-Neoliberal Politics in Venezuela By Leslie C. Gates University of Pittsburgh Press. 2010. 216 pages. $24.95 paper

Electing Chavez: The Business of Anti-Neoliberal Politics in Venezuela By Leslie C. Gates University of Pittsburgh Press. 2010. 216 pages. $24.95 paper

Electing Chávez: The Business of Anti-neoliberal Politics in Venezuela by Leslie Gates

Electing Chávez: The Business of Anti-neoliberal Politics in Venezuela <i>by Leslie Gates</i>

Fiscal Decentralization: Explaining Successful Local Economic Development in Latin America

Abstract This study uses a statistical model to examine which institutional factors influence the number of businesses created in a local area. It uses a survey of mayors, city council members and executives from thirteen countries in Latin America to gauge whether they implement pro-business policies. The analysis considers fiscal, administrative and political autonomy as influential factors and controls for municipal environmental factors. The outcome shows that whereas political autonomy and business friendly policies at the local level are important in attracting new businesses to the municipality, administrative and fiscal autonomy are less influential. The importance of this research lies in the theoretical analysis, which evaluates whether mayors and other local authorities see themselves as agents of growth. Specifically, the following questions are addressed. Does government structure matter to support municipalities with the appropriate level of economic policies? Does fiscal, political or administrative decentralization increase the production of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs)? This paper is organized into the following sections. First, it briefly summarizes the development attempts in Latin America and describes why entrepreneurship is key for equitable growth. Second, it provides a theoretical perspective as to why local government is needed to promote business friendly policies and ultimately economic development. Finally, this paper tests the proposed theoretical perspective and provides tentative conclusions.

The Impact of Corporate Governance in the Banking Sector Performance: The Case of the 2007-2008 Financial Crisis

This research project aims to analyse the role of banks governance as an explanation to the recent financial crises. We claim to contribute to the current debate on the issue of governance mechanisms in explaining the performance of the banking sector, crucial to understanding of the 2007-2008 financial crises, in three important ways. Firstly, providing a unique and innovative analyse of the impact of board social and economic networks on bank performance, including political connections and business networks. Secondly, analysing the impact of deposit insurance on bank performance, considering both country and bank specific characteristics. Thirdly, analysing the banks’ characteristics that received government bailouts, namely in what concerns their corporate governance and try to shed more light on the extent to which banks’ governance characteristics determine the response to the financial crisis. The sample consists of 181 publicly listed banks from EMU countries, between 2002 and 2009 subject to the following criteria (1) being listed at least 1 year before year of analysis and (2) do no changed its governance structure due to mergers or acquisitions (M&A), in order to exclude banks than, eventually, around M&A have influenced stocks prices and/or manipulate results.

Heritage 2010: 2nd International Conference on Heritage and Sustainable Development

Heritage 2010 was a state-of-the-art event regarding the relationship between forms of heritage and the conceptual framework for sustainable development. The four dimensions of sustainable development—environment, economics, society, and culture—were brought together in order to define a particular approach on how to deal with and go beyond the traditional aspects of heritage preservation and safeguarding. As heritage is no longer just a memory or a cultural reference, or even a place or an object, some deeper conceptualization is needed in order to place heritage in its present context. The concept of heritage is moving toward broader and wider scenarios, where it often becomes the driving force for commerce, business, leisure, and educational politics. Heritage is currently seen, or referred to, only through its cultural definition. However, sustainable development brings heritage concepts to another dimension, as it establishes profound relationships with economics, environment, and social aspects. Consequently, heritage preservation and safeguarding is facing new and complex problems. Degradation of heritage sites is not any more just a result of materials ageing or environmental actions. Factors such as global and local pollution, climate change, poverty, religion, tourism, commerce, ideologies, and war are now on the cutting edge for the emerging of new approaches, concerns, and visions on heritage. Thus, the “Heritage 2010: Heritage and Sustainable Development” conference was conceived to embrace a global view on how heritage is being contextualized with the four dimensions of sustainable development. Furthermore, heritage, governance, and education were brought into discussion as the key factors for enlightenment of future global strategies for heritage preservation and safeguarding.

"I Make Politics My Recreation": Vice President Garrett Hobart and Nineteenth-Century Business Politics

Until recent decades, American vice presidents were relatively obscure, little-known men who had minimal impact upon the politics and policies of the administrations they served. On this ignominious list remains Garret A. Hobart (1844-1899) of Paterson, New Jersey, vice president under President William McKinley, a businessman-turned-politician who died before his term expired. A closer look, however, reveals a man dubbed &amp;ldquo;assistant President&amp;rdquo; by contemporary journalists, an influential policymaker who had the president‟s confidence, and a lawyer-entrepreneur who shrewdly maneuvered the shadowy line between business and politics. At times, his pursuit of personal fortune in the railroad and water supply businesses veered into suspicions of graft and illegality. Far from being a nineteenth-century nonentity, Hobart was a central voice for the Republican Party during the 1890s, and one of the more influential and controversial vice presidents in American history.

Business Political Capacity and the Top-Heavy Rise in Income Inequality: How Large an Impact?

Business Political Capacity and the Top-Heavy Rise in Income Inequality: How Large an Impact?