European Governance & Directors' Days
CORPORATE POWER & CORPORATE MONITORING IN EUROPE
27th and 28th of November 2007, Brussels
The Belgian Governance Institute (BGI) organizes, in collaboration with the Association Belge des Administrateurs / Associatie van Bestuurders in België (AB), the European Governance & Directors' Days. The conference will be held in Brussels and will be addressed to an international audience composed of practitioners and academics.
In essence, the program will focus on innovative governance issues of high relevance for the defined target groups. The central theme of this conference is corporate power and control in Europe. In particular, it will tackle the role of shareholders, boards of directors and management (the three actors in the CG-tripod) in the monitoring of firms.
In order to meet the aspirations and expectations of a mixed audience, the program will combine high-level discussions and presentations (in plenary sessions) with accessible and practically oriented workshops (in parallel work sessions).
Speakers include, among others, Becht Marco (ECGI), Bury Claire (European Commission), Brancato Carolyn (Conference Board), Butler Peter (Governance for Owners), Caprasse Jean- Nicolas (ISS), Colmant Bruno (Belgian Federal Ministry of Finance), Daems Herman (GIMV), Dallas Georges (Standard & Poors), Mallin Chris (Birmingham Business School, University of Birmingham), Montagnon Peter (ABI), Simon Joëlle (MEDEF), Thomsen Steen (Copenhagen Business School), Yea Philip (3i Group).
The FIR (French Responsible Investment Forum), with the support of Eurosif and Le Monde, has decided once again to reward research works contributing to deepen knowledge about finance and sustainability organizing the 3rd edition of the "Finance and Sustainability" European Research Award.
3 categories of awards
Master’s Thesis (master’s degree, graduate school of management, graduate school of engineering),
PhD Thesis
Academic Published Articles.
Each award is granted a €5,000 prize.
In addition to these research awards, the FIR finances 3 research grants of €3,000 each for research projects in the areas of:
Online Disclosure of the Largest Listed Companies in Eleven CEE Countries Improves Significantly
The PFS Program publishes its 13th semi-annual Survey of Online Investor Relations of the Ten Largest Listed Companies (by market capitalization) in eleven Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. PFS Program Assistant Magdalena Grabowska and PFS Program Intern Dagmara Lubczynska conducted the survey from July 2 through September 3, 2007.
In this edition of the survey, disclosure in almost all categories remains at or reaches its highest level since the first survey was conducted in August 2001. This trend has been observed since February 2006 and may be viewed as sustainable. In particular, this edition of the survey documents a dramatic increase in disclosure of detailed governance information. 59% of the companies surveyed provide additional information about management online, compared with 53% in February 2007 and 45% in August 2006. This is the largest percentage recorded since the surveys began in 2001. Furthermore, 51% of the companies surveyed provide additional information about board members online. This is also the largest percentage recorded since the first survey and represents a significant increase over previous surveys: 40% in February 2007 and 37% in August 2006.
Survey results include the following:
Websites: In ten of the 11 CEE countries surveyed, each of the ten largest listed companies has a local-language website on August 15, 2007. In Bulgaria, nine of the ten companies surveyed have a local-language website. In the previous two surveys, each of the 110 CEE companies surveyed had a local-language website on the record date. 93% of the companies surveyed have an English-language website; the percentage has remained constant for the past 18 months.
Information on Management: 86% of the companies surveyed provide a list of management online; 59% provide additional information on management. Disclosure in the former category increased slightly (4%) since the last survey whereas the latter represents a record high since the first survey was conducted and a significant increase vis-à-vis February 2007 (53%) and August 2006 (45%).
Information on Board Members: 82% of the companies surveyed provide a list of board members online and 51% provide additional information on board members. The former category increased to a slightly higher new record since the first survey was conducted, from 81% in February 2007. Disclosure in the latter category also represents a new record high and a significant increase from 40% in February 2007, 36% in August 2006 and 41% in February 2006.
Comparisons with BRIC and Ukraine: The largest listed companies in BRIC equal or outperform their CEE peers in every category. However, the gap continues to narrow. Furthermore, when companies in BRIC are compared with peers in the eight CEE countries that joined the EU in 2004, the difference between the peer groups is much smaller. The Ukrainian companies surveyed disclose less information than their peers in both BRIC and CEE.
About the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) established the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program in 1999 as a public-private partnership to help complete reforms necessary to create sound, private and well-functioning financial sectors in the eight Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries that have since joined the European Union. In 2005, the geographical focus of the program shifted to South East Europe (SEE).
East-West Management Institute (EWMI), a New York-based not-for-profit organization, is currently the primary implementing partner.
The PFS Program is mandated to fill remaining gaps in the institutional development of the financial sector in CEE and SEE countries through regional integration and cooperation, selective technical assistance programs and the practical application of lessons learned in neighboring countries. The substantive areas covered under the PFS Program are: accounting, auditing, banking, capital markets, insurance and pension reform. For more information, please visit the PFS Program website at http://www.pfsprogram.org/
First Call For Papers: Information Problems in Socially Responsible Investment
Call For Papers for a special issue of PHILOSOPHICA
Edited by Wim Vandekerckhove
Ghent University, Belgium
Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) has evolved over the last two decades from a marginal and activist phenomenon to a widely accepted and potential mainstream investment model, whereby investment decisions are not just based on expected financial results but also on expectations of non-financial company performance.
Information problems in markets was first conceptualised by Arrow in the 1960s through the concept of Information Asymmetry and received renewed attention when the Nobel Prize in Economics was awarded in 2001 to Akerlof, Spence and Stiglitz for their work on Information Asymmetry (IA). Akerlof further developed the informational problem in markets with the concept of "adverse selection", whereby low-quality providers crowd out everyone else from the market. Spence researched how better informed individuals on a market can "signal" their information to less informed individuals in a credible way in order to avoid adverse selection problems. Finally Stiglitz dealt with IA on insurance markets and developed the notion of "screening", whereby the uninformed party gives the informed party incentives to reveal information on their risk situation in order to avoid problems of "moral hazard".
In general terms, IA occurs in transactions between two parties where one party has more or better information than the other. Hence, there are also information problems and asymmetries on financial markets and since SRI involves many transactions between different actors (management, rating agencies, investors, financial institutions, NGOs, ...), describing SRI from an IA approach can bring new insights to the practice and further development of SRI.
This special issue attempts to give insight into information problems with regard to SRI by bundling papers that deal with aspects of Information Asymmetry in SRI. The issue will comprise two strands of papers. A first strand will offer insights into how SRI models can be perceived as mechanisms to reduce information asymmetry by taking into account non-financial information about a company. A second strand of papers this issue welcomes deals with information problems encountered by SRI-actors (rating agencies, investors, ethical committees, etc.).
Suggested problems papers can tackle (conceptual, qualitative or quantitative issues) include:
dependence of rating agencies on publicly available information
about a company,
trustworthiness of company information,
market regulation and SRI incentives,
effects or lack of effect of divestments on stock market notations,
typologies of transactions between SRI-actors,
information asymmetries between SRI product providers and investors (institutional and/or retail),
media perceptions of SRI,
ethical audits and SRI.
Note that this list is inconclusive. Potential authors are encouraged to share their ideas and suggestions with the guest editor.
About the journal
PHILOSOPHICA is a peer-reviewed journal published by Ghent University (Belgium) and is indexed in Philosopher's Index and Sociological Abstracts. The journal's website: http://logica.ugent.be/philosophica/
Important dates
Deadline for papers is January 15, 2008.
Deadline for revised versions is April 15, 2008.
Send submissions or inquiries to:
Dr. Wim Vandekerckhove
Ghent University
Center for Ethics & Value Inquiry (LW01) Blandijnberg 2 B-9000 Ghent Belgium
Wim.Vandekerckhove@UGent.be
Call for Papers: "Small Business Development and Poverty Alleviation in Africa"
Edited by: John Okpara, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and you feed him forever"
The development of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) is seen, particularly in developing countries, as a key strategy for economic growth, employment creation, and poverty reduction. In Africa, because of their economic supremacy, SMEs have a crucial role to play in stimulating growth, generating employment and contributing to poverty alleviation. SMEs represent over 90% of private business in the continent and contribute to more than 50% of the employment and of gross domestic product (GDP) in most African countries. Since their independence, most African countries have been promoting small businesses as an engine for economic growth. More recently, due to the growth of unemployment, there has been a renewed focus on the promotion of small businesses not simply as an engine for growth but more importantly as the key to job creation and poverty reduction. Poverty reduction has been a key issue facing African countries. Studies have shown that Africa has the highest proportion of people living in poverty -- nearly half of the population lives below the international poverty line of $1 per day. This persistently high level of poverty is attributed partly to the jobless growth of economies, and has led to an emphasis on small business development as a catalyst for job creation and poverty reduction. To date, small businesses in Africa have high failure rates which are huge negatives for African economies with limited capital and other resources. The combined failure rates and barriers for growth affect economic development and perpetuate poverty. In the light of the above, it seems necessary to call for a special issue on Management Research News to address the issues surrounding small business development and poverty alleviation, with the hope of encouraging more research on this important subject as well as to make policy recommendations that will help small businesses to thrive and play a bigger role in the development of the continent.
A list of suggested topics areas: A list of suggested topics includes but is not limited to the following:
Challenges and Prospects of SMEs in Africa
SMEs and Poverty Alleviation
Growth Constrains of SMEs Impact on Poverty Alleviation
Public Policy and SMEs
Growth Strategies and SMEs
Macro-Economic Factors and Entrepreneurship
Culture and Small Business Development
Determinants of SMEs Performance
Financing and Management Issues in SMEs
Prospects and challenges of Micro and Small Enterprises in the Informal Sector Information technology and SMEs performance
Micro-Financing/Loans and Small Business Development
Privatization and SMEs development
Challenges and Prospects of female entrepreneurship beyond
Micro Businesses and Poverty Alleviation
Family Owned Businesses and Poverty Alleviation
Cross-Cultural Comparison of SMEs Strategies and Performance
SMEs and Internationalization, Strategies, Challenges, and Prospects
Export Performance and problems of SMEs
Role of NGOs and Small Business Development
Business/Vocational Education and SMEs
Empirical approaches, case studies, analytical modeling, and conceptual/theoretical papers are all encouraged. Management Research News is a peer reviewed academic journal recently acquired by Emerald Publishing and has been in publication for 30 years. Its emphasis is to publish internationally focused management research studies focusing on timely results and implications of the research, with rapid feedback and turnaround time.
Submissions
The journal website is located at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/mrn.htm. Please take a minute to read through the author guidelines on this site before submitting your paper. Submitted papers should not have been previously published nor be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. All papers are refereed through a peer review process. Papers should not to exceed 6,000 words. Electronic submissions to the Editor through email are preferred: jokpara@bloomu.edu
Closing date for submission of manuscripts: 31 May 2008
Communication of initial decision on manuscripts: 15 August 2008
Resubmission of revised manuscripts: 1 October 2008
Expected Publication Date: Mid 2009
Case Studies in Sustainability Management and Strategy: The Oikos Collection
With the rapidly growing importance of sustainability and corporate responsibility in a globalised world, management schools are increasingly integrating long-term economic, environmental and social issues into their teaching and research. Climate change, poverty, labour standards and human rights are among the many topics that future decision-makers will need to face in their careers. Business education needs to reflect this new reality and provide a broadened understanding of value creation in order to create economic capital while developing social and preserving natural capital. Many sustainability trends also offer interesting new business opportunities that are ripe for entrepreneurial thinking.
Case studies can be important tools for creating learning processes on different levels - students are forced to struggle with exactly the kinds of decisions and dilemmas managers confront every day. In this reflection of reality, the values and goals of the student are systematically challenged. This can be especially valuable in the context of sustainability and strategy - organisations are now continually forced to value the different aspects of sustainability and their interrelations: How do social issues impact the economic bottom line? How can an environmentally sound strategy create a positive impact on employee motivation and thus have measurable impact on economic performance? What comes first and why?
But excellent case studies for management education in the field of sustainability, management and strategy are rare. This innovative collection has been produced to fill this gap. It is based on the winning cases of an annual competition organised by oikos - the international Student Organization for Sustainable Economics and Management. So what makes an excellent case in sustainability management? These cases have been highly praised because they provide excellent learning opportunities, tell engaging stories, deal with recent situations, include quotations from key actors, are thought-provoking and controversial, require decision-making, provide clear take-aways and are all supported by teaching guidance and comprehensive teaching notes available to faculty.
These cases explore both the opportunities and pitfalls companies and NGOs face in targeting sustainability issues and how their values and core assumptions impact their business strategies. They deal with a myriad of issues including supply chain management, stakeholder dialogue, social entrepreneurship, sustainable marketing, ethics, governance, the business case for sustainability, partnerships, purchasing and climate change.
Case Studies in Sustainability Management and Strategy will be an essential purchase for educators and is likely to be a widely used as a course textbook at all levels of management education.
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Latest Issues of the Cambridge Sustainability Research Digest Now On-Line
The latest issues of the Cambridge Sustainability Research Digest are now available online. The Digest is a monthly briefing on a selection of the latest global research on leadership in sustainability.
August 2007
Climate Change Reporting Research (Global: Reporting the Business Implications of Climate Change in Sustainability Reports, KPMG/GRI)
Carbon Market Report (US: State of the Voluntary Carbon Markets 2007, Ecosystem Marketplace/New Carbon Finance)
CSR Survey (US: Cause Evolution Survey 2007, Cone Inc.)
Climate Change Policy Incentives Research (UK: Saving the Planet: Can Tax & Regulation Help? PriceWaterhouseCoopers)
Environmental, Social & Governance Study (Global: GS Sustain Focus List, Goldman Sachs)
July 2007
Responsible Business Practice Report (Global: "The State of Responsible Competitiveness", AccountAbility)
Climate-Based Consumption Scorecard (US: Climate Counts Company Scorecard)
Sustainable Globalisation Survey (Global: "Raising Our Game: Can We Sustain Globalization", SustainAbility)
Ethics at Work Survey (US: LRN Ethics Study - Workplace Productivity)
Climate Change Survey (UK: Climate Change Business Leaders Survey, KPMG/YouGov)
Official Hard Copy Launch Scheduled for Barcelona Colloquium
We are very pleased to announce the online launch of the latest addition to the EABIS portfolio of cutting edge publications on business in society knowledge development and learning.
Building on the 2006 Colloquium in Milan, EABIS has collaborated with SDA Bocconi School of Management and Emerald Insight Publishing to produce a special issue of Corporate Governance: the International Journal of Business in Society. Reflecting the theme of last year’s conference, this publication takes a deep and reflective view of Corporate Responsibility, Strategic Management and the Stakeholder View of the Firm.
The Journal features in-depth articles from some of the world’s leading thinkers on corporate responsibility, strategic management and stakeholder theory. It represents an important contribution to the broader debate on these subjects, underlining the commitment of EABIS and its members to develop and promote new knowledge on priority issues for business and its stakeholders.
Outstanding Resources Available Through EABIS Website
For the first time the Journal is being made publicly available online in advance of its hard copy launch at the EABIS 6th Annual Colloquium in Barcelona. We are grateful to Emerald Publishing for their cooperation in giving the EABIS network priority access to its contents.
A wide range of additional resources on the subject are also available online from last year’s successful conference. Among them is the keynote speech by Mario Monti, President of Universita Bocconi and former EU Competition Commissioner for Competition, delivered just before the official launch of last year’s special edition in Milan. Click here to download his speech.
We highly recommend that you take advantage of this unique free online access and we encourage you to share the articles with interested colleagues and contacts.
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