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AbstractDesign‐Build‐Finance‐Maintain‐Operate (DBFMO) contracts are a particular type of public‐private partnership whereby governments transfer the responsibility for the design, construction, financing, maintenance, and operation of a public infrastructure or utility service building to a multi‐headed private consortium through a long‐term performance contract. These arrangements present a typical principal‐agent problem because they incorporate a "carrot and stick" approach in which the agent (consortium) has to fulfill the expectations of the principal (procurer). This article deals with a neglected aspect in the literature related to the actual use of "the sticks or sanctions" in DBFMOs and assesses to what extent and under which conditions contract managers adopt a deterrence‐based enforcement approach or switch to a persuasion‐based approach, specifically when the contract clauses require the use of (automatic) deterrence. An empirical analysis of four DBFMOs in the Netherlands shows that the continuation of service delivery, the need to build trust, and the lack of agreement on output specifications play a role in the willingness of the procurer to apply a more responsive behavior that uses persuasion, even when deterrence should be automatically applied. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

South Africa is experiencing high rates of unemployment and poverty, particularly among the youth. Entrepreneurship, and the education of it, is often seen as a solution to this socio-economic issue, yet studies show conflicting results on the impact the field of study has on entrepreneurial intent. Accordingly, the aim of this paper is to evaluate and compare the entrepreneurial intention among urban students enrolled for an entrepreneurship qualification versus students who were registered for a non-entrepreneurship related qualification. The article presents quantitative, empirical data collected from 603 students by means of a questionnaire to determine if the field of study has an influence on entrepreneurial intent. The study makes use of descriptive statistics, factor analysis, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin and Bartlett test in order to discover similarities and differences in entrepreneurial intent in students pursuing entrepreneurial and non-entrepreneurial qualifications. The results reveal that students view entrepreneurship as a valuable career path, regardless of field of study. Both groups hold similar strong positive views and beliefs regarding their intention to pursue this career path. Entrepreneurship students, however, display a marginally higher self-observed personal attitude toward becoming entrepreneurs. Results also show that family support is an important influencer in entrepreneurial intent among students

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between six different dimensions of political risk in a country and its spread for a sample of 12 Latin American countries.


Design/methodology/approach
The methodology applied consists of panel estimators with fixed effects. In addition, a panel data model with instrumental variables is considered to tackle with potential problems of endogeneity in the model.


Findings
The results show there is a strong positive relationship between political risk and sovereign spread in Latin America, i.e., greater political risk is associated with greater sovereign spread. This effect is particularly significant when the political risk is associated with a weak rule of law or low-quality regulation in the country.


Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of this study concerns the potential risks of endogeneity which might exist between sovereign risk and political risk measures, which may not have been completely eliminated with the econometric methodology used.


Originality/value
This paper contributes to the literature of sovereign risk by studying the dimension of political risk in detail. Specifically, six dimensions of political risk are studied. Additionally, it provides empirical evidence, including the 2008 financial crisis period, regarding the determinants of spreads on Latin American economies.

Using German income distribution in 2009, this article studies the redistributive and revenue effects of bracket creep under various inflation scenarios. We develop a tax micro-simulation model for the newly available Panel on Household Finance (PHF) data. The simulation yields an inverted U-shaped overall redistributive effect of the income tax and social insurance contribution system with respect to the inflation rate, which contrasts with Immervoll (2005), who finds that fiscal drag always enhances the equalising effect. The nominal income growth as well as the deterioration of tax progression at the middle and top of the income distribution between 1998 and 2009 can be the impetus for this change. This result implies that delaying adjustment might reduce redistribution. We also suggest that these results might not be restricted solely to Germany. Additionally, when we introduce the empirical evidence that capital income grows faster than non-capital income r > g, the dual tax system with a flat capital income tax implemented in 2009 further disequalises the after-tax income substantially. Allowing inflation compensation to lean towards the poor by boosting their share of capital income may not be favourable to redistribution.

As a social theory of organization, it is unsurprising that institutional theory draws upon the profound and ambitious work of the late anthropologist Mary Douglas. One of the foundational concepts of organizational institutionalism, institutional logics, directly draws upon her work. Yet, in recent times this foundational role has faded from view. This is unfortunate for there is much continuity in current work with that of Douglas, it now being 50 years and 30 years respectively, since the publication of two of her formative works. The deep analogies that underpin classificatory systems and the processes by which they are sustained remain significant areas under continued investigation by institutional theorists. Thus, in this article we revisit Douglas' core arguments and their connections to institutional theorizing. We specifically explore her contribution of 'naturalizing analogies' as a way of accounting for the unfolding of change across levels of analysis, extending, modifying and enriching explanations of how institutional change is reified, naturalized and made meaningful. We do this by providing empirical descriptions of meta-organizing analogies and field-level applications. We explain how Douglas' major theoretical works are of considerable relevance for current institutional theorizing, particularly in informing accounts of institutional logics.

<p>We analyze the relationships seniors have with mobile communications in two different European contexts, Romania and Catalonia. By means of a qualitative approach, we describe the ways older individuals incorporate mobile phones in everyday life communication practices, and the motivations supporting these decisions. To understand motivations for using a given communication device –as the mobile phone– we took into account the channels individual has access to; individual's personal interest on using available devices in everyday communications; the location of the members of the individual's personal network; and the pricing system that determines the cost of mediated communication.</p><p>The empirical analysis is based on two case studies conducted in Romania and in the metropolitan area of Barcelona (Catalonia) in different moments, between 2010 and 2012. Participants were 60 years old or over. Information was gathered by means of semi-structured interviews that were recorded and transcribed, while a common methodological design allows an enriched insight. Besides gender, we take into account heterogeneity of ageing for a more nuanced analysis.</p><p>This paper constitutes the first step in the exploration of common trends in the relationship seniors have with mobile communication in different European countries.</p>

AbstractThis article argues that some core tenets of Actor-Network Theory (ANT) can serve as heuristics for a better understanding of what the stakes of cyber-security are, how it operates, and how it fails. Despite the centrality of cyber-incidents in the cyber-security discourse, researchers have yet to understand their link to, and affects on politics. We close this gap by combining ANT insights with an empirical examination of a prominent cyber-incident (Stuxnet). We demonstrate that the disruptive practices of cyber-security caused by malicious software (malware), lie in their ability to actively perform three kinds of space (regions, networks, and fluids), each activating different types of political interventions. The article posits that the fluidity of malware challenges the consistency of networks and the sovereign boundaries set by regions, and paradoxically, leads to a forceful re-enactment of them. In this respect, the conceptualisation of fluidity as an overarching threat accounts for multiple policy responses and practices in cyber-security as well as attempts to (re-)establish territoriality and borders in the virtual realm. While this article concentrates on cyber-security, its underlying ambition is to indicate concretely how scholars can profitably engage ANT's concepts and methodologies.

PurposeThis study aims to analyse organisational capabilities among new technology-based firms (NTBFs) and examine how these capabilities are linked to the firms' long-term survival.Design/methodology/approachThe study leverages a data set of 131 NTBFs located at 16 incubators in Sweden. The first part of the analysis seeks suitable organisational capabilities as determinants of firm survival. The second part is a statistical analysis. The organisational capabilities comprise six variables concerning business experience, financing and international markets.FindingsThe study comprises two data collections, with the first data collection being conducted in 2005, and the second in 2014. The survival rate for these firms was 55 per cent according to their respective annual reports in 2013. First, this study showed that the logistic regression model that included the three organisational capabilities is significant. Second, one variable is significant at the variable level: business experience. In addition, the control variable firm size is also significant.Originality/valueFurther empirical research in this area is required as the current research on organisational capabilities is quite limited and mainly conceptual in nature. Very few related studies focus on NTBFs and their survival. This study demonstrates a significant logistic regression model to determine links between organisational capabilities and firm survival.

Erasmus scholarships are generally allocated on the basis of academic merit, and yet there is a growing concern in some Spanish universities that beneficiaries are often worse students than average. I argue that this paradox may be due to an adverse self-selection of applicants caused by the increased information asymmetry between students and teachers in study-abroad programmes. Such self-selection will have a greater impact in countries where Erasmus is widely available, in which the effect of any merit-based supply-side selection will be smaller. Faced with uncertainty about the performance of individual mobile students, teachers may tend to base their grades on the average performance of mobile students. This will (1) reduce the relationship between academic ability and the final GPA, and (2) discourage good students from participating. I find empirical support for both hypotheses by applying a Heckman endogenous switching-regime model to data from the academic records of 400 graduates from a Spanish university, including 68 Erasmus students. I discuss possible solutions, such as awarding differentiated degrees to Erasmus students. Although the results of this case cannot be automatically translated to other universities or countries, the method could be exported to other cases where there are similar concerns.

Corruption has a wide range of corrosive effects on societies, but it is widespread throughout the world. There is a question, however, as to whether corruption is endorsed as an outcome of a legitimate hierarchy and meritocracy. To address this issue, the present study examines the associations between meritocratic ideology and the indicators of corruption by performing two empirical studies with correlational and experimental designs. In Study 1, all variables were measured with scales, and the results demonstrated that meritocratic ideologies were negatively associated with corruption perception but positively associated with corrupt intention. In Study 2, meritocratic ideology was manipulated, and the results demonstrated that compared with the low meritocratic‐ideology condition, the participants primed by the high meritocratic‐ideology condition reported a lower corruption perception but higher corrupt intention. In both studies, the findings suggest that the meritocratic ideology that motivates people to maintain and bolster the current hierarchical structure and meritocracy leads to the endorsement of corruption. The present study explores the roles of meritocratic ideology in the perception and intention of corruption, extends the scope of the predictive power of system justification theory to corruption beyond mere injustice‐related aspects of disadvantage, and also provides suggestions for interpreting and fighting against corruption.

The political participation of immigrants has received increased scholarly attention over recent decades. However, comparisons between the electoral behavior of immigrants in their countries of origin and of residence are still limited. This article addresses this gap in the literature and seeks to identify the determinants of Romanian immigrants' electoral participation in the local elections of four West European countries (Germany, France, Italy, and Spain) as compared to their turnout in their home country's legislative elections. Looking through the lenses of exposure theory, we hypothesize that contact with institutions, people, and values from the countries of residence are likely to have different effects in the two types of elections. We test the explanatory power of four main variables - time spent in the host country, social networks, degree of involvement in the local community, and the type of relationship with citizens of their host countries - to which we add a series of individual-level controls such as age, education, gender, and media exposure. To assess our claim, we employ binary logistic regression to analyze original web survey data collected in the summer of 2013. The result supports the empirical implications of exposure theory.

Academic attention to populism has sharply increased in recent years. Yet, a commonly accepted definition is still lacking, with scholars disagreeing on categorization, labels, and boundaries between its different manifestations. In this article, through an analysis of Euromanifestos and party statutes, we address the interactions between Italian political parties and populism by adopting the various definitions available in populism theory, that is, populism as (i) ideology, (ii) rhetoric, (iii) communication style, and (iv) organization. Our aim is to identify all major attributes linked to populism and empirically investigate them with lower level indicators, measuring and comparing them across Italian parties and over time. The empirical analysis, conducted through a formalized content analysis of the European electoral programmes and party statutes, considers populism not as a discrete concept but rather as a continuous one and therefore enables us to undercover the variety of populisms within the Italian parties. The main finding of the article is that over the last decades all Italian parties have shown some signs of populism and that the intensification of populist features is strongly linked to the exarcebation of the financial and economic crisis, and its governance.

This article investigates what can be achieved by one particular management by objectives system – i.e. the Swedish National Environmental Quality Objectives system and its evaluation function. A critical programme theory analysis is first developed to reconstruct the programme theory of the National Environmental Quality Objectives system. Next, the robustness of the programme theory is analysed in terms of internal consistency, theoretical support and empirical support. The results indicate that, while some assumptions underlying the National Environmental Quality Objectives system are valid, the National Environmental Quality Objectives' programme theory has low validity in several respects. The evaluative knowledge the system produces is only partly relevant to or useable by local actors and industry. While the state of the environment is observed and measured in the monitoring and evaluation reports, the direct effects of environmental policy and work are not evaluated, which is a main weakness of the National Environmental Quality Objectives system. It is unlikely that the current evaluation function can effectively support achievement of the National Environmental Quality Objectives environmental objectives. The article suggests that evaluations in support of network governance are more likely to support National Environmental Quality Objectives achievement and sustainable development.

This article examines a neglected dimension of the dominant discourse of terrorism, namely, the vernacular, 'everyday narratives' of lay members of the public. While there are many studies of elite- and public-level discourses of terrorism, large numbers of public opinion and attitude studies, and a growing number of focus group studies on vernacular understandings of security and citizenship, there are few studies which specifically focus on lay discourses of terrorism. Importantly, there are even fewer studies which employ discursive psychology and conversation analysis as their primary methodological approach. Consequently, we do not know much about how ordinary people speak about in daily conversation – and therefore, how they understand or 'know' – what terrorism is, how it manifests, what its causes are, and how it is best dealt with. This article reports on some of the key findings of an empirical study of vernacular discourse about terrorism carried out in Aberystwyth, Wales. It reflects on what these findings tell us about how important political discourses are expressed in different arenas by different actors, how they are consumed and circulate, how they are resisted, how hegemonic they are in practice, and how they reflect cultural dispositions and the politics of legitimacy.

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to empirically identify incentives that drive resource shifting by US pharmaceutical firms to comparatively low-tax jurisdictions.


Design/methodology/approach
Using a panel of publicly listed companies, we investigate whether resource shifting is facilitated by two underlying factors. First, we examine whether pharmaceutical manufacturers whose intangible assets are disproportionately held as intellectual property are more or less likely to shift resources to jurisdictions outside of the USA. Second, we empirically determine whether manufacturers that derive most of their revenues from producing a specific type of product are more or less likely to shift income-producing resources to their international affiliates.


Findings
The empirical results suggest that pharmaceutical factors do practice strategic resource shifting. Moreover, pharmaceutical manufacturers which produce biologic medications are significantly less likely than other manufacturers to practice resource shifting. We find no evidence to suggest that firms whose intangible assets are more composed of intellectual property are any more or less likely to practice resource shifting.


Originality/value
To date, a plethora of studies exist which examine resource shifting in a large, general population of multinational corporations. However, there are relatively few studies that examine international resource shifting in the pharmaceutical industry.