14 research outputs found
The question of institutional continuities in the german corporate Governance system - answer to hopner, martin and jackson, gregory
No full textS.369-372Das Argument der Replik von Martin Höpner und Gregory Jackson, dass meine Schlussfolgerungen aus dem Mannesmann-Fall Ergebnis unrealistischer Extremhypothesen seien, kann nicht aufrecht erhalten werden. Auch gelingt es ihnen nicht, empirisch überzeugend nachzuweisen, dass die bisherig stabilen institutionellen Einrichtungen im deutschen Unternehmenskontroll-System zunehmend mit neuen Regeln und Prozeduren gekoppelt werden und so ihre Funktion nachhaltig verändern. Abschließend plädiere ich für eine stärker empirisch-analytische Gegenüberstellung jener zwei kontrollbezogenen Unternehmenssegmente, die gegenwärtig nebeneinander in Deutschland bestehen.Martin Hopner and Gregory Jackson's argument, put forward in their critique, that my way of interpreting the case of Mannesmann derives from unrealistic and extreme hypotheses, receives no support. Furthermore they do not succeed in providing convincing empirical evidence for their proposition that so far unchanged institutions of the German corporate governance system are increasingly coupled with new rules and procedures thereby altering their function fundamentally. Finally, I argue in favor of analyzing more thoroughly the two currently existing segments of German corporations that are subject to different control regimes.54Nr.
European Corporate Governance Reform and the German Party Paradox. CES Germany & Europe Working Papers, No. 03.1, 2003
Get PDFThis paper addresses the current discussion on links between party politics and production regimes. Why do German Social Democrats opt for more corporate governance liberalization than the CDU although, in terms of the distributional outcomes of such reforms, one would expect the situation to be reversed? I divide my analysis into three stages. First, I use the European Parliament’s crucial vote on the European takeover directive in July 2001 as a test case to show that the left-right dimension does indeed matter in corporate governance reform, beside cross-class and cross-party nation-based interests. In a second step, by analyzing the party positions in the main German corporate governance reforms in the 1990s, I show that the SPD and the CDU behave “paradoxically” in the sense that the SPD favored more corporate governance liberalization than the CDU, which protected the institutions of “Rhenish,” “organized” capitalism. This constellation occurred in the discussions on company disclosure, management accountability, the power of banks, network dissolution, and takeover regulation. Third, I offer two explanations for this paradoxical party behavior. The first explanation concerns the historical conversion of ideas. I show that trade unions and Social Democrats favored a high degree of capital organization in the Weimar Republic, but this ideological position was driven in new directions at two watersheds: one in the late 1940s, the other in the late 1950s. My second explanation lies in the importance of conflicts over managerial control, in which both employees and minority shareholders oppose managers, and in which increased shareholder power strengthens the position of works councils
The effects of financial institutions and investor behaviour on management practice: a report for the Department of Trade and Industry
No full textCorporate Governance and Employees in Germany: Changing Linkages, Complementarities, and Tensions
Get PDFThis article examines institutional linkages between corporate governance and labour management in Germany. German corporate governance was characterised by the importance of banks, ownership concentration, long-term investment, and stable corporate networks. This system displayed important complementarities with stable long-term employment, investment in worker training, flexible quality production, low variability and dispersion in pay, and cooperative industrial relations during the post-war period. Since the mid-1990s, corporate governance has changed dramatically - a decline in the role of banks, the unwinding of corporate networks, the rise of foreign and institutional investors, en emerging market for corporate control, and changing careers and compensation of top managers. The paper investigates the resulting introduction of shareholder-value management practices and their impact on employees in large German companies. The findings show that these changes are related to the shrinking of stable core employment and the growth of variable pay. However, such tensions with shareholder value management have not undermined employee codetermination and collective bargaining institutions. Both play an important mediating role between capital market pressures and employment outcomes. The implications for the German "model" of corporate governance are discussed.
Epilogue to 'Explaining Institutional Complementarity': What Have We Learnt? Complementarity, Coherence and Institutional Change
Get PDFTheory of the electronic states of semiconductor heterostructures
Get PDFThis thesis is concerned with theoretical calculations of the properties of electronic bound states in semiconductor heterostructures. The complex band structure empirical pseudopotential method (EPM) is used as the foundation of the work. Spin orbit coupling and strain effects (due to lattice mismatch) are included in familiar ways, as is the transfer matrix method, allowing the study of arbitrarily configured heterostructures. These techniques are used to investigate the unusually deep InAs/AlSb conduction band well. The strong possibility of intraband transitions at electro magnetic wavelengths around 1.55µm is predicted, with corresponding enhanced momentum matrix elements and joint density of states over interband transitions. An InAs/GaSb/AlSb asymmetric well is investigated, paying particular attention to the bound states in the vicinity of the InAs/GaSb band overlap. The electron-like states are found to cross with heavy hole and anti-cross with light hole-like states, as a function of heterostructure dimension or applied electrostatic field. This is analogous to the hybridisation of states in the in-plane band structure, except that for zero in-plane wave vector there can be no appreciable hybridisation of electron and heavy hole states. A technique is described that has been developed to extract envelope functions from heterostructure wavefunctions calculated using the realistic complex band structure EPM approach. These envelope functions conform to Burt’s theory (M. G. Burt, J. Phys.: Condens. Matt. 4, 6651 (1992)) in that they are uniquely defined, continuous and smooth over all space. Comparisons with traditional effective mass envelope functions are made. The extracted envelope functions are used to demonstrate conclusively Burt's predictions (M. G. Burt, Superlatt. Mi- crostruct. 17, 335 (1995)) concerning the inadequacy of certain approximations for the calculation of interband dipole matrix elements and charge oscillation. Finally, the issue of k • p operator ordering is convincingly settled, in favour of 'ordered' over 'symmetrised' Hamiltonians, by comparison to EPM calculations, and using EPM derived k • p parameters
Do rural ao acad?mico: a implanta??o do Campus Erechim e as transforma??es em seu espa?o atrav?s das mem?rias de uma discente
Get PDFThe present work intends to study the implantation of the Erechim campus of the
Federal University of Fronteira Sul and the relation that such implantation has with the
personal memories of the author, former resident of the same land now occupied by the
university. Initially, the proposal is to build an analysis showing how the Federal
University of Fronteira Sul materialized, built through the action of the Pro-University
Movement, thus materializing access to public higher education in the Upper Uruguay
region. So, in this project, I think of the university as an institution resulting from the
struggle to implement it in the region. In a second step, using personal memory, I intend
to combine this and history, using photographs of the place where the present campus is
located, bringing with essence the personality through the eyes of an academic. The
objective here is to think of ourselves as an agent and subject of our own history, since
my own life is affected and resized from the establishment of the Erechim campus. This
campus, which happens to be located in a place that I lived in the past.O presente trabalho pretende estudar a implanta??o do campus Erechim da
Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul e a rela??o que tal implanta??o possui com as
mem?rias pessoais da autora, ex-moradora do mesmo terreno hoje ocupado pela
universidade. Inicialmente a proposta ? construir uma an?lise exibindo como se
materializou a Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul, constru?da atrav?s da a??o do
Movimento Pr?-Universidade, materializando assim o acesso ao ensino superior p?blico
na regi?o do Alto Uruguai. Assim, penso neste projeto a universidade como institui??o
resultante da luta para a implementa??o da mesma na regi?o. Em um segundo momento,
recorrendo a mem?ria pessoal, pretendo conjugar esta e a hist?ria, utilizando fotografias
do local onde o presente campus se situa, trazendo com o ess?ncia a pessoalidade atrav?s
do olhar de uma acad?mica. O objetivo aqui ? pensarmo-nos como agente e sujeito da
pr?pria hist?ria, uma vez que minha pr?pria vida ? afetada e redimensionada a partir da
instaura??o do campus Erechim. Campus este, que casualmente situa-se em um local que
no passado morei
Quem mexeu no meu brinquedo? Investigando o consumo de brinquedos por um grupo de adultos
No full textO presente trabalho objetivou investigar os valores simbólicos que explicam o consumo de brinquedos por um grupo de pessoas adultas. Para tanto, realizou-se uma pesquisa qualitativa com coleta de informações via entrevistas. Os sujeitos da pesquisa foram escolhidos por conveniência dos pesquisadores que selecionaram cinco adultos que consomem brinquedos e os colecionam há pelo menos 10 anos. A análise dos resultados foi realizada via análise de conteúdo para gerar categorias e agrupar informações sobre um mesmo tema e análise do discurso para interpretação dos resultados sob a ótica do simbolismo no consumo. Como principais resultados tem-se que envolvimento dos consumidores com os objetos e/ou personagens por eles representados funcionam como símbolos materiais em muitos casos de características que eles gostariam de ter, de como se percebem (self) e momentos que desejam reviver da sua infância. Os aspectos relacionados ao produto atuam como motivadores para o consumo, buscando os consumidores na aquisição à repetição destes sentimentos, sendo que o ato de colecionar permite a geração de um sentimento de pertencimento e referência, a partir do momento em pode se relacionar com outros grupos para os quais é referência devido a coleção.</p
La politique des contraintes budgétaires : une explication idéologique de la variation des cadres budgétaires nationaux dans la zone euro
No full textSituated in the fields of comparative and international political economy, this dissertation is interested in national fiscal frameworks in the eurozone. These sets of fiscal rules and institutions aim at reducing the fiscal policy discretion of political decision-makers. While national fiscal frameworks face substantial convergence pressures in Europe, we can nevertheless observe significant and persistent variation in their stringency, design and timing. The research project thus sets out to explain this fiscal framework variation studying six country cases (Germany, France, Austria, Slovakia, Ireland and Portugal).Building on a diverse case-selection strategy to maximise both the internal and external validity of the comparative research design, the empirical evidence includes interviews with 81 fiscal policy actors, as well as parliamentary debates, electoral manifestos, legal documents, reports, newspaper articles and descriptive statistics. Drawing on these varied materials, the dissertation tests several theories that could explain the variation in fiscal frameworks and their reforms between the early 1990s and the late 2010s. Among these potential explanations are domestic ideas, national economic interests, public opinion, financial markets, and coercion by powerful external actors.In-depth process-tracing of fiscal framework reforms in Slovakia, Austria and France highlights the role of country-specific macroeconomic idea-sets in explaining the variation of national fiscal frameworks. Macroeconomic idea-sets differ with regard to the role they assign to the state in the economy and to which extent they favour the use of rules and/or expertise to guide fiscal policymaking. They are embedded in domestic political, economic and research institutions. The case studies show how Slovak neoliberalism, Austro-pragmatism and French post-dirigisme, respectively, led to the implementation of a constraining, intermediate, and lenient fiscal framework in terms of stringency.Comparative analyses of all six country cases and the in-depth case studies help to evaluate the extent to which the four alternative theories can explain national fiscal framework variation. The findings suggest that financial markets (in Austria and Slovakia) as well as external coercion (in Ireland and Portugal) played a role in the timing of certain fiscal framework reforms. While correlational evidence also suggests an influence of economic interests on fiscal framework variation, the absence of process-tracing evidence puts this explanation into question. Both economic models and fiscal frameworks might be driven by the same macroeconomic idea-sets instead. Public opinion, finally, did not influence fiscal framework reforms in any significant manner.Située dans les champs de l'économie politique comparative et internationale, cette thèse s'intéresse aux cadres budgétaires nationaux dans la zone euro. Ces ensembles de règles et d'institutions budgétaires visent à réduire le pouvoir discrétionnaire des décideurs politiques en matière de politique budgétaire. Alors que les cadres budgétaires nationaux sont soumis à des pressions de convergence importantes en Europe, nous pouvons néanmoins observer des variations significatives et persistantes dans leur rigueur, leur conception et leur calendrier d’implémentation. Le projet de recherche vise donc à expliquer cette variation des cadres budgétaires à partir de six cas nationaux (Allemagne, France, Autriche, Slovaquie, Irlande et Portugal).Basé sur une stratégie de sélection de cas diversifiée afin de maximiser la validité interne et externe de cette recherche comparative, les preuves empiriques comprennent des entretiens avec 81 acteurs de la politique budgétaire, ainsi que des débats parlementaires, des manifestes électoraux, des documents juridiques, des rapports, des articles de journaux et des statistiques descriptives. En s'appuyant sur ces matériaux variés, la thèse teste plusieurs théories qui pourraient expliquer la variation des cadres budgétaires et de leurs réformes entre le début des années 1990 et la fin des années 2010. Parmi ces différentes explications potentielles figurent les idées nationales, les intérêts économiques nationaux, l'opinion publique, les marchés financiers et la coercition exercée par de puissants acteurs extérieurs.Le process-tracing approfondi de réformes des cadres budgétaires en Slovaquie, en Autriche et en France met en évidence le rôle des idées macroéconomiques propres à chaque pays pour expliquer la variation des cadres budgétaires nationaux. Les idées macroéconomiques diffèrent quant au rôle qu'elles attribuent à l'État dans l'économie et à la mesure dans laquelle elles favorisent l'utilisation de règles et/ou d'expertise pour guider l'élaboration de la politique budgétaire. Ils sont ancrés dans les institutions politiques, économiques et de recherche nationales. Les études de cas montrent comment le néolibéralisme slovaque, l'austro-pragmatisme et le post-dirigisme français, respectivement, ont conduit à la mise en oeuvre d'un cadre budgétaire contraignant, intermédiaire et flexible en termes de rigueur.Les analyses comparatives des six cas nationaux et les études de cas approfondies permettent d'évaluer dans quelle mesure les quatre théories alternatives peuvent expliquer la variation des cadres budgétaires nationaux. Les résultats suggèrent que les marchés financiers (en Autriche et en Slovaquie) ainsi que la coercition extérieure (en Irlande et au Portugal) ont joué un rôle dans le choix du moment de certaines réformes du cadre budgétaire. Si les données corrélationnelles suggèrent également une influence des intérêts économiques sur la variation du cadre budgétaire, l'absence des preuves empiriques fortes dans le process-tracing remet en question cette explication. Il est possible que les modèles économiques et les cadres budgétaires soient tous deux guidés par les mêmes ensembles d'idées macroéconomiques. Enfin, l'opinion publique n'a pas influencé les réformes du cadre budgétaire de manière significative
