Capital Rationing Research Articles

The Weber Controversy: the Problem of Periodization of the Emergence of Capitalism

Many contemporary researchers suggest rejecting Weber’s approach, linking the formation of modern capitalism to Protestantism, as completely false. In particular, they point out the complexity of periodization: in their opinion, capitalism did not arise in the Reformation era, but much earlier. The article substantiates the thesis that the attempt to refute the Weber thesis by pointing out the incorrectness of its periodization seems unconvincing. Rational capitalism really emerged after the Reformation and exactly where it achieved success, which gives certain grounds for the hypothesis of the connection between the Reformation and the formation of rational capitalism. Of course, this in itself does not prove the truth of the Weber hypothesis, but in any case we cannot consider it to be obviously incorrect.

The Economics of Capital Allocation in Firms: Evidence from Internal Capital Markets

We analyze a unique chief financial officer (CFO) survey data set to examine capital allocation in firms. Top management is aware of agency and information problems at the divisional level and organizes the budgeting process to counteract managerial opportunism, employing systems of interconnected measures, including layers of approval, divisional budgets, reporting requirements, and compensation schemes. When making funding decisions, top management relies heavily on top-level nonfinancial information, such as the assessment of divisional managers’ abilities. However, substantial parts of the capital budget do not require top management approval as firms trade off the benefits and costs of decentralization, thereby deviating from the traditional paradigm of decentralized project initiation but centralized project approval. Even firms with active internal capital markets tilt capital allocation toward relatively even distributions, reflecting the use of capital allocation as a credible communication device. We also find that within-firm agency problems may result in capital rationing, that is, divisions’ restricted access to internal capital. CFOs also believe that integrating multiple businesses into an internal capital market results in tangible financial benefits, predominantly lower costs of capital and higher debt capacities. Thus, our findings also support coinsurance arguments suggesting that internal capital markets may improve access to external financing. This paper was accepted by Victoria Ivashina, finance. Funding: This work was supported by the BBBank Karlsruhe, Wissenschaftsförderung der Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe, and Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (Karlsruhe House of Young Scientists). Publishing fees were supported by the “Funding Programme Open Access Publishing” of the University of Hohenheim. Supplemental Material: The online appendices and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2021.02755 .

Petroleum development projects. Concept selection, taxation and recovery rate

The paper models and discusses important dimensions when choosing development concept for petroleum projects, and the consequences it has for recovery rate and project economics. By means of case analysis, optimal concept selection is analysed from the perspective of oil companies and government, accounting for the difference in evaluation metrics. While government has emphasis on net present value, a key decision criterion for oil companies is breakeven price. There are two reasons why oil companies select development concepts that are suboptimal from a government perspective: 1) to attain a low breakeven price (capital rationing), a cheaper development concept is often chosen; and 2) conservative resource estimation is often applied. Underinvestment leads to low recovery rate. When oil companies are inclined to select suboptimal development concepts, it is optimal for government to combine cash flow tax and uplift. An uplift enhances marginal investment incentives and could also remedy the incentive for postponement inherent in the breakeven price decision criteria. Our topic, the effect of tax design on development concept and thus extraction ratio is generic, it applies also to the mining sector.

Capital Rationing and SMEs Profitability in Nigeria

Capital Rationing and SMEs Profitability in Nigeria

The Phenomenon of Debt-loving Behavior Through the Islamic Worldview Perspective and Literacy in the Digital Era

The existing cultural problem of debt-loving behavior is slowly growing as a societal norm driven by an insatiable need to satisfy an individual’s worldly desires. In Islam, it is considered more favorable to incur debt in situations of emergency. Consequently, researchers want to examine the factors contributing to the prevalence of debt-loving behavior in the contemporary digital era, alongside exploring the Islamic perspective on addressing this situation. This research employed a descriptive qualitative methodology. The findings indicate that multiple reasons contribute to an individual’s affinity for debt. These aspects include 1) excessive consumptive behavior; 2) impulsive buying tendencies; 3) perceiving debt as a societal trend; 4) lack of financial literacy; and 5) being influenced by one’s worldview. The prevalence of social media platforms has profoundly impacted modern lifestyles, promoting a lifestyle centered around seeking pleasure and gratification. Hedonism constitutes an integral component of capitalist rationality. The Islamic worldview diverges from the Western worldview in considering worldly life and the afterlife. The notion of Islamic rationality encompasses using mathematical logic, metaphysical, and spiritual elements to address worldly challenges. The worldview can be seen and utilized to comprehend and evaluate every human activity and behavior.
 Keywords: debt, Islam, worldview

A Decolonial Reimagining of Workplace Spirituality: Embracing Sufi wisdom in the Quest for Meaningful Enchantment

This paper critically examines the human quest for meaning and enchantment in the context of modernity's disenchanting tendencies and the subsequent emergence of co-opted forms of re-enchantment. It argues that while the workplace spirituality movement attempts to address the crisis of meaning in organizational life, it often reproduces neoliberal capitalist rationality embedded in coloniality. Drawing on decolonial theory, the paper proposes engaging with Islamic spirituality, Sufism, as a means to generate a radical imaginary capable of providing deeper meanings and expanding human potentialities. The concept of ishq-i haqqiqi (intense love of the Divine) is presented as a cornerstone for reimagining enlightenment in more holistic and spiritually grounded terms. This approach offers promise not only for addressing existential and moral crises but also for fostering more humane and sustainable forms of social and economic organization. The paper contributes to ongoing discussions about the role of spirituality in management and organizational studies by offering a decolonial perspective that challenges dominant Western paradigms and opens up new possibilities for understanding human flourishing in organizational contexts.

Отражение пост-экономических проблем в научно-фантастических сериалах «Звездный путь» и «Вавилон 5»

The article examines “Star Trek” and “Babylon 5” as components of American political culture and collective memory, focusing on their portrayal of economic issues. It aims to analyze how economic ideas are depicted in science fiction films and how they are absorbed into mass culture to fit the needs of a consumer society. The study draws on interdisciplinary historiography and economic theory, integrating insights from economic and cultural anthropology as well as sociology. Its novelty lies in analyzing how economic and social issues are perceived and how alien economic development is portrayed in the visual narratives of science fiction series. The analysis focuses on how these series represent economic experiences and social contradictions, such as inequality and development disparities in American society. It also explores the political and ideological dimensions of the economy as a driver of social and cultural transformation, particularly amid economic globalization and growing criticism of capitalist rationality. Additionally, the study considers how economic development is understood through collective memory, with socio-economic traumas from modernization and globalization intensifying inequality and disparities. The study further explores how “Star Trek” and “Babylon 5” shape perceptions of economic issues in U.S. society by promoting the idea of a socially responsible economy. The author argues that these series envision a post-capitalist economy grounded in humanism, progress, and development. In conclusion, the findings suggest that “Star Trek” and “Babylon 5” serve as cultural mechanisms for the assimilation and reevaluation of economic concepts, addressing collective traumas and ideological contradictions as society balances social responsibility with market dynamics.

Biopolitics of the Zombie Corpses: Collectivity, Contagion, and Alterity

Inasmuch as the society is considered as a body today, social problems should be defined accordingly, as problems of hygiene and cleanliness. In this regard, various representations of zombie corpses in zombie movies can be conceived as concrete examples of threat and a perception of disease. In this article, I claim that the zombie figures in cinema bear a positive potential for the social life of humanity, and I will define this potential as a new opportunity for meeting the absolute alterity. Within this context, I analyse 28 Weeks Later and The World War Z and The Girl with All the Gifts to put forth the idea that what enables emancipation of humanity is contagion and alterity. Rather than destroying the capitalist rationalization without offering any alternatives, zombie corpses enounce the birth of a new form of social life as analysed through Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Weber’s Comparative Analysis of the Rise of Rational Capitalism: A View from the South

ABSTRACT This article explores Weber's work on the rise of rational capitalism in the West, as well as his comparative work on the religion of China and India, and the criticisms of Orientalism that it has attracted. The overall argument is that while some of the criticisms are valid, others rest on a misunderstanding of his aims and a superficial reading of his work. It argues that Weber's aim with this study was to solve the puzzle of why rational capitalism first developed in Western Europe and not in India or China, two societies that were in some respects more advanced than Europe. Weber did not make a value judgement regarding the overall superiority of Europe. His vision of the mutually supportive, dynamic and often contingent relationship between cultural elements and the interaction of conflictual social groups disproves the criticism that he had an essentialistic understanding of Oriental societies. Weber ignored the extent to which Europe dominated and exploited people in the periphery, but his attempt to grasp internal factors explaining the initial outperformance of Europe, which allowed them to dominate others, is valid. The article acknowledges the criticism that Weber's work was Eurocentric. His understanding of Oriental history was limited, which he acknowledged, since he regarded his conclusions about the Orient as tentative. As a result, his comparative concepts and hypotheses are of more interest than his empirical analysis of the Orient.

The Literature of Cacao: Jorge Amado's Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon

Abstract: Situated at the intersection of postcolonial studies and affect studies, this essay explores the emotional and generic significance of capitalist modernity in Jorge Amado's Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon (1958). Amado's novel is set in the provincial city of Ilhéus at the time of the First Republic (1889–1930), a particularly volatile period of Brazilian history that witnessed the decline of the regional oligarchies and the rise of the urban bourgeoisie. By combining these two different critical perspectives, I argue, we can understand why Mundinho Falcão, a wealthy investor from Rio, should find it necessary to establish a new emotional regime in Ilhéus, one that privileges capitalist rationality over the hyperbolic feelings associated with the existing feudalistic order. Moreover, as the novel progresses, it becomes clear that this transition at the level of story, whereby one dominant structure of feeling makes way for another, creates a corresponding disturbance at the level of discourse or genre—transforming a narrative of melodramatic antipathies and rivalries into one of bourgeois complicity and compromise.

Contabilidades medievais e racionalidade econômica: Retorno a uma crença historiográfica

Abstract The interest of social scientists in ancient accounting has been revived by the changes that capitalism underwent in the past decades. This has led to a careful scrutiny of the genealogy of accounting practices, with very contemporary expectations prompting a reexamination of the medieval genesis of accounting. These developments have encouraged a return to the grand narratives which, for more than a century and since the Weber/Sombart controversy, have explored the origins and meaning of accounting practices, linking them to the first manifestations of the spirit of capitalism. This article considers the ebb and flow of medievalists’ belief in a medieval capitalist rationality, which would have been expressed in accountancy, and resituates these ideas in their intellectual contexts. Drawing on recent research and on a study of the accounts of a 15th century Parisian couturier, Colin de Lormoye, the article reveals both the documentary and editorial constants and blind spots. It attempts to sketch out new avenues of analysis, moving away from grand teleological writings. The article raises the question of whether the accounting ratio of these actors constitutes a manifestation of the European genius of the Renaissance or are a writing practice anchored in specific social functioning.

Корпоративные ценности как основа деятельности компании

This article explores the changing approach to the values in the field of business, primarily in transnational corporations. Just a hundred years ago, the German sociologist Max Weber noted for the first time that values directly affect professional activity. At the moment, society’s requirements for socially responsible business conduct have increased. Violation of ethical standards by the company and its representatives can significantly affect the value of shares, income and the very existence of the company. Adventure capitalism, which sought to benefit by any means, is increasingly being replaced by rational capitalism, built on the principles of ‘universal gain’, when the desire for profit is balanced with the interests of society, and solidarity prevails over competition. Modern large companies try to adhere to the principles of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance). The desire to be included in ESG ratings, in which a comprehensive assessment is made on environmental, social and managerial indicators of sustainable development, is explained by the increase in investment attractiveness and the overall prestige of the company. The percentage of participants in such ratings and rankings is growing every year. More companies consciously get engaged in their organizational culture, develop ethical codes, and publish corporate values in open sources. Ensuring the understanding and acceptance of the company’s values by each of its employees, so that they can implement them in their daily work, is a difficult task, which requires in-depth knowledge in a variety of fields. The use of values by corporations as a tool in management requires compliance with high moral standards, as it is introduced into the subtle and little-studied sphere of the foundations of not only human activity, but also of the entire human existence. There is a great risk of coming to a new form of slavery instead of freedom, creativity and development. In this paper, the author analyzes the conjugating of companies’ activities with their corporate values from the point of view of social philosophy.

Capital Rationing and Business Cycles in the Norwegian Petroleum Industry

Capital Rationing and Business Cycles in the Norwegian Petroleum Industry

Goncharov in the Twenty‐First Century By IngridKleespies, LyudmilaParts. Studies in Russian and Slavic Literatures, Cultures, and History. Boston: Academic Studies Press, 2021, xxviii + 234 pp. $109.00. ISBN 978‐1‐64469‐698‐9

Goncharov in the Twenty‐First Century By IngridKleespies, LyudmilaParts. Studies in Russian and Slavic Literatures, Cultures, and History. Boston: Academic Studies Press, 2021, xxviii + 234 pp. $109.00. ISBN 978‐1‐64469‐698‐9

Nocoastjazz

Nocoastjazz

Surveillance Capitalism in an Age of Neoliberal Rationality

The Surveillance Capitalism concept explains the capitalist accumulation logic of large digital companies in tracking internet users, extracting personal data and in changing behavior. This article aims to question the concept from a perspective that considers the participation of internet users in their own surveillance. The proposed new approach results from the conception of neoliberalism as the rationality of the contemporary capitalism that requires a new subjective order anchored in the production of a society formed by enterprise units involved constantly in the development of their human capital to compete in social relationships in all spheres of existence. Accordingly, it is believed that the online surveillance conducted by the large corporations and the expropriation of the human experience that results is only one part of the story. The other part is the perpetual search for individuals performance in relationships with others and with themselves.

The effect of systems of management controls on honesty in managerial reporting

While budgetary controls with capital rationing are theoretically optimal and widespread in practice, empirical research documents their association with higher employee dishonesty compared to budgetary controls without rationing. In this study, we examine whether combining budgetary controls with mission statements in a system of management controls decreases employee dishonesty. We predict that the system's effect on dishonesty depends on the interaction of the social norms conveyed by each control instrument within the system. We study two types of budgetary controls that differ in whether they include budget rationing and two types of mission statements that differ in whether they emphasize integrity or financial values. We provide experimental evidence that mission statements reduce employee dishonesty more if combined with budget rationing controls than non-rationing budgetary controls. This effect is enhanced when the mission statement conveys a norm of integrity, as opposed to a norm of financial performance. Our results suggest that mission statements can mitigate the downsides of budget rationing, but this effect is less pronounced when the norms conveyed by each instrument are redundant.

The Necessary Feminisation of the Hegelian Dialectic

By claiming that self-consciousness exists only as recognized, Hegel undermined the paradigm of the autonomous subject. But since in western culture autonomy is paired with masculinity, it follows that what Hegel proposes is in fact a feminisation of our notion of subjectivity. His misogyny, however, prevents him from noticing this, and in his description of the ethical state he reinstates the masculine, self-subsistent subjectivity as the model of the citizen and excludes women from the public sphere, which leads to inconsistencies in his theoretical project. I argue that this is the result of denying women recognition so that men could have the love and care guaranteed in order to uphold their illusion of autonomy, which jeopardizes the idea of the ethical state. In this way, both Hegelian insights and his blind spots provide us with tools for the analysis of contemporary democracies struggling with the inheritance of liberal contract theories and capitalist (ir)rationality.

Re-thinking the Liquid Core of Capitalism with Hyman Minsky

While Minsky’s work is often identified with the critique of financial speculation, this paper argues that there is a different side to his work. We argue that Minsky can be read as offering a post-foundational perspective on political economy that recognizes the speculative dimension of all economic activity. This post-foundational reading allows for an understanding of neoliberal policymaking in terms of the provision of liquidity to too-big-to-fail constituencies. The article discusses how some segments of Western societies have been able to participate in the inflationary logic of this too-big-to-fail dynamic, whereas others are locked out and face increasingly tight liquidity constraints. This differential access to liquidity is an increasingly central aspect of the stratifying rationality of contemporary capitalism. By connecting Minsky’s insights into the temporal logic of capital to key issues in social theory, the article presents a new theorization of (il)liquid life that advances on extant accounts.

Reconsidering Max Weber's journey to the United States: Sociological connections between race relations and American capitalism.

This article sets out to investigate Weber's major sources of interest in his American journey, namely, rampant capitalism as most evident in some large cities, the presence of Calvinism and of a bourgeois ethos in some Northern areas of the United States, and the persisting relevance of a precapitalist status order in the South. As Weber argued, in these distinct settings different status groups and anthropological types were all connected, each in its own way, with modern formally rational capitalism. The significance of Weber's journey in the Unites States lied in the opportunity this journey offered him to delineate in ideal-typical terms a number of status groups and anthropological types to which he paid attention in the course of this travel.