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In-depth examination of early contracting practices of founding teams
No full textOne of the earliest decisions founders are faced with is how to split the equity in their team. Assessing each founder’s past and future contributions is difficult to evaluate given both the venture’s and founders’ future is inherently uncertain. New competitors may arise and business models may change, potentially requiring a different skill set than those the founders possess. Founders may also lose their passion for the venture, encounter a new, more exciting opportunity, face health or family-related problems or may run into conflict with their co-founders, which might provoke their exit from the venture. The goal of the doctoral dissertation is to dive deeper into dynamic equity agreements and examine both their antecedents and consequences, while the question if inclusion of such provisions in the end would be good for the venture team and firm performance remains to be addressed. Apart from the crucial role of formal agreements among founders’ dynamics, early-stage growth will also be associated with differential role emergence among founding team members in terms of work specialization and differential allocation of responsibilities. For instance, during early stage growth, some founders will find themselves being more oriented towards stakeholder management, financial, marketing or human resource issues. Together, this doctoral study would not only contribute to the academic literature on the earliest decisions founders have to take related to their contracts and roles, but would also have important practical implications concerning what agreements founders are best of making from the outset of their ventures. Uncertainty regarding both founding team- and venture-specific factors may matter for our understanding of the adoption of dynamic equity agreements
Acquisitions by financial versus strategic buyers: Target antecedents and bidding competition in the private stages of the bidding process
No full textWe explore how target firm attributes affect the interest of financial versus strategic bidders in the private stages of a corporate takeover process. Using a unique set of hand-collected data from 606 US public deals from 2005 to 2016, we demonstrate the difference between strategic and financial bidder attraction from deal initiation onwards, as such unaffected by deal process characteristics or pricing strategies. Our results indicate that the target firm’s sales growth rate, cash flow generation, and technological innovation are found to influence financial versus strategic bidder interest from the start of the private process, whereas industry outperformance, market-to-book, and leverage seem to particularly affect the persistence of financial bidders throughout the deal process. In general, targets with stand-alone value-improving potential and opportunities to exploit financial leverage benefits are more likely to attract financial buyers while targets with probable synergy gains appeal more to strategic bidders
Strategy implementation - Leveraging people in adaptive strategy
No full textStrategy is about making fundamental choices on where to play and how to win to realise an organisation’s goals, and to deliver results within the context of those choices. This identifies two elements of the strategy process: Formulation (thinking) and implementation (doing
Shifting the focus from product to community. The digital transformation journey from Cartamundi
No full textEmpirical risk assessment of maintenance costs under full-service contracts
No full textWe propose a framework to assess the risk of full-service maintenance contracts. Our models quantify the impact of machine characteristics on the contract costs. We build a differentiated, break-even tariff plan for the contract portfolio. We augment the break-even price with appropriate risk marginsWe provide a data-driven framework to conduct a risk assessment, including data pre-processing, exploration, and statistical modeling, on a portfolio of full-service maintenance contracts. These contracts cover all maintenance-related costs for a fixed, upfront fee during a predetermined horizon. Charging each contract a price proportional to its risk prevents adverse selection by incentivizing low risk (i.e., maintenance-light) profiles to not renege on their agreements. We borrow techniques from non-life insurance pricing and tailor them to the setting of maintenance contracts to assess the risk and estimate the expected maintenance costs under a full-service contract. We apply the framework on a portfolio of about 5 000 full-service contracts of industrial equipment and show how a data-driven analysis based on contract and machine characteristics, or risk factors, supports a differentiated, risk-based break-even tariff plan. We employ generalized additive models (GAMs) to predict the risk factors’ impact on the frequency (number of) and severity (cost) of maintenance interventions. GAMs are interpretable yet flexible statistical models that capture the effect of both continuous and categorical risk factors. Our predictive models quantify the impact of the contract and machine type, service history, and machine running hours on the contract cost. We additionally utilize the predictive cost distributions of our models to augment the break-even price with the appropriate risk margins to further protect against the inherently stochastic nature of the maintenance costs. The framework shows how maintenance intervention data can set up a differentiated tariff plan
HR in turbulent times: How are HR priorities and mastery levels adjusting to new realities in Belgium?
No full textIn unpredictable times, many face the challenge of setting the right priorities. This is certainly true for Human Resource (HR) professionals sailing through turbulent waters, characterised by economic uncertainty and extremely tight labour markets. But what is the impact of this turbulence on the functioning of HR? The HR Barometer study elaborates on the trends and challenges in Human Resource Management in the largest for-profit organisations in Belgium (Bel 20, + 200 largest for-profit organisations in terms of number of employees). As annual initiative launched each year in January, the HR Barometer survey comprises two parts. The first part focuses on the strategic importance of different HR practices and policies, so that changes in these priorities can be investigated from a longitudinal perspective. One metric used here is ‘priority’ of HR services, not only indicating the importance of a certain HR domain, but also its urgency. Another metric is ‘mastery’, explaining how well HR professionals have certain services under control. The second part of the study is a variable set of items, investigating a particular HR domain which gained importance over the past year. The next wave of the HR Barometer study will be launched in January 2023, shedding light on priorities that prevailed in 2022 and examining how those changed in comparison to previous year(s), affected by the many challenges we encountered this year. For our data collection, which will run from January until March 2023, we will target HR Directors and Managers from a broad spectrum of industries in Belgium. Based on previous waves of our longitudinal survey, we expect to collect between 100 and 125 responses. In the first part of our survey (focussing on the strategic importance of different HR practices and policies), respondents will indicate the priority of HR practices and the mastery of these practices on a scale from 0% (no priority/low mastery) to 100% (top priority/role model). We will combine the insights from the metrics 'priority' and ‘mastery’, and hence divide all responses into four quadrants: 1) high-priority domains that HR departments master well are what we call in this analysis 'strengths', 2) domains with high priority, but low mastery are 'improvements’, 3) mastering a domain which is not considered a priority is 'under control', and 4) everything else is labelled 'low priority'. Findings that result from this will be compared to last year’s results and strategic shifts will be revealed. The second part of the survey will have a closer look on the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) and will investigate how HR professionals are approaching the ‘DE&I challenge’. Looking at our HR Barometer results from the last few years, diversity is traditionally one of the HR domains situated in the ‘low priority’ quadrant. Nevertheless, the topic was indicated in our most recent survey (launched in January 2022) as an important factor that will drive organisations’ HR strategy in the coming years. To better understand this paradox, we will deep dive into prevailing ideas, attitudes and expectations related to the topic of DE&I. Also, we will investigate how HR is trying to diversify their talent pools and which concrete actions they are taking to build more inclusive workplaces. We will elaborate on the challenges HR professionals face, and the opportunities they see to overcome those. Data analysis will take place from March until April 2023, and in our insights will be gathered in a research report. During the EAWOP conference, we will present our insights to inspire both academics and practitioners in the audience. On the one hand, we invite (human resource management) practitioners to inform them on recent trends and challenges in HRM in leading organisations operating in Belgium. On the other hand, we would like to invite academics to pursue similar research designs, which could be a first step towards international collaboration that allows for cross-country comparison of our Belgian data. With our research, we hope to contribute to both the ‘Decent work and economic growth’ (first part of our HR Barometer study) and the ‘Reduced inequalities’ (second part of our HR Barometer study) Sustainable Development Goal, as described by the United Nations
Understanding the next talent wave: Career expectations of graduates in turbulent times
No full textYoung graduates are the talent of the future, and they will become an important group in organisations in the next decennial. Whilst the inflow of graduates in the European labour market is increasing yearly (Green & Henseke, 2021), recent years have been characterised by economic uncertainty. The recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic had a temporary yet detrimental effect on the labour market (Lee et al., 2020), and the question arises whether this led graduate students to lower their career expectations or whether the imprint of this generation is so strong that their expectations remain high. To gain more insight ino how organisations can attract, develop and retain graduates according to their current needs, our study examines the impact of economic uncertainty on the career expectations of graduates. Contextual forces such as globalisation, technology, organisational restructuring, and the growth of services have altered the way we look at careers and challenge what older generations have taken for granted (Barley et al., 2017; Dries et al., 2008; Rousseau, 1990). We also know contextual influences are likely to have a stronger impact than the generational cohort to which one belongs (Deal, 2007; Wong et al., 2008). To our specific interest is the impact of the COVID-19 recession on individual factors influencing the psychological contract beliefs that precede the employment relationship, i.e., the anticipatory psychological contract (APC) (De Vos et al., 2009; Rousseau, 2001). One considers this as the lens through which graduates view their future employment relationship and could be seen as the foundation for the development of their future psychological contract. Our study elaborates on three types of individual factors that are expected to impact their anticipatory psychological contract expectations: optimism, careerism and the desire for future job security (De Vos et al., 2009; Rousseau, 2001).We report data from three matched samples of advanced master students surveyed a few weeks before graduation. Sample 1 (N = 110) was surveyed in June 2017, whilst sample 2 (N = 125) and sample 3 (N = 97) were surveyed in June 2020 and 2022 respectively. Data were obtained using self assessment questionnaires measuring optimism (De Hauw & De Vos, 2009), careerism (Rousseau, 1990), and expectations about employer inducements (job security). All responses were provided using five-point Likert scales. One-way ANOVA analyses and post-hoc comparisons reveal significantly lower levels of optimism concerning the economic situation in graduates from 2020 compared to those graduating in 2017 and 2022. However, in comparison to previous graduate cohorts, each new cohort reports significantly higher levels of optimism concerning the jobs available given their skills and diploma. Our findings for careerism partially support the literature that this is rather a stable individual factor, not so much influenced by the socioeconomic situation (De Hauw & De Vos, 2009; Rousseau, 1990). Only when comparing graduates from 2020 and 2022, significant lower levels of careerism are reported by the latter. Lastly, master students graduating in 2020 attach more importance to job security than the ones graduating three years ago and in 2022. These findings demonstrate the impact of contextual factors on the career expectations of graduates. Students graduating in a period of recession report lower levels of economic optimism and a higher preference for job security than students graduating in a period of economic growth. The research presented adds to the existing literature on what new cohorts of graduates expect from 1086their future career and employer. In terms of practical relevance, our aim is to contribute to the research on the expectations and intentions of graduates towards their future employment relationship as it can provide important information for the development and implementation of effective human resources (HR)-practices towards new employees. As such, the intended audience can be both academics and practitioners.In conclusion, we hope to contribute to the ‘Decent work and economic growth’ Sustainable Development Goal as described by the United Nations with this researc
LGBTQ and finance
No full textRecent changes in workplace and corporate board diversity policies and a series of court rulings have signalled a fundamental change in the treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (henceforth LGBTQ) people in the corporate world. In this paper, we survey the burgeoning literature on the role of sexual orientation in finance. Studies show that there is a positive relationship between the adoption of LGBTQ-friendly policies and firm performance. We identify the factors that influence a firm's decision to adopt LGBTQ-friendly policies. We also provide evidence that sexual preferences play an important role in leadership styles in the household. Overall, our review suggests that LGBTQ research allows novel insights regarding how LGBTQ policies create value for the firm, insights that help us identify several directions for future research
Rage Against the Machine: Experimental Insights into Customers’ Negative Emotional Responses, Attributions of Responsibility, and Coping Strategies in Artificial Intelligence–Based Service Failures
No full textIn their interactions with chatbots, consumers often encounter technology failures that evoke negative emotions, such as anger and frustration. To clarify the effects of such encounters, this article addresses how service failures involving artificial intelligence–based chatbots affect customers’ emotions, attributions of responsibility, and coping strategies. In addition to comparing the outcomes of a service failure involving a human agent versus a chatbot (Study 1), the research framework integrates the potential influences of anthropomorphic visual cues and intentionality (Studies 2 and 3). Through three experimental designs, the study reveals that when interacting with chatbots, customers blame the company more for the negative outcome, experiencing mainly frustration, compared with when they interact with a human agent. As the chatbot is perceived as not having intentions and control over them, it is not considered responsible. Thus, the company bears more responsibility for the poor service performance. However, the authors suggest that anthropomorphic visual cues might help mitigate the negative attributions to the company. The attribution of humanlike characteristics also helps promote both problem-focused coping, which helps consumers actively handle the service failure, and emotion-focused coping, which helps restore the emotional balance disrupted by the negative event
M&A monitor 2023. Shedding light on M&A in Belgium
No full textDespite a decline in the international mergers and acquisitions market, the Belgian market is holding up surprisingly well in 2022. This is mainly due to the smaller and strategic transactions. The average transaction price across all size segments remains at an absolute record high. However, the persistent economic uncertainty is leading to an increased use of deferred payments. The M&A market has become far more professional over the past 10 years, with growth rather than savings as the main motive. A shift from a reactive to a proactive market is expected in the coming years, with the search for targets increasingly crossing national borders. Finally, environmental factors are gaining in importance as a competitive advantage in transactions