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1 – 4 of 4The paper investigates whether political geography, as measured by the degree of alignment of state politicians with the party of the USA President, has an impact on corporate…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper investigates whether political geography, as measured by the degree of alignment of state politicians with the party of the USA President, has an impact on corporate fraud convictions.
Design/methodology/approach
Prior research shows that the degree of alignment between state politicians and the president's political party is positively correlated with measures of earnings management for firms headquartered in the state. Political alignment is conducive to earnings management because it affects a firm's information and enforcement environment by increasing policy risk and promoting lenient regulatory oversight. The paper posits that this environment is also conducive to corporate fraud and tests this hypothesis using pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) and panel regressions with annual state-level data for 2003–2018.
Findings
The paper documents a positive and statistically significant relationship between political alignment and corporate fraud conviction rates by state.
Research limitations/implications
The conclusions are tempered by data limitations. First, the conviction data are available at the state level only. Second, the true level of fraud is inherently unobservable and the conviction data may not reflect the actual number of frauds that are committed.
Practical implications
Fraud examiners might benefit from considering the role of political connectedness in determining fraud risk. Although additional research is needed before making concrete recommendations, the initial indications clearly point to political connections as a potential concern.
Originality/value
The findings build on evidence that political connections influence earnings management. Rather than focusing on direct measures of connectedness, such as lobbying expenditures, the paper examines a plausibly exogenous measure: political geography.
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Noel Campbell and Adriana S. Cordis
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether public corruption influences entrepreneurial activity in the USA. Because the true underlying level of corruption is inherently…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether public corruption influences entrepreneurial activity in the USA. Because the true underlying level of corruption is inherently unobservable, it cannot be factored into business venturing decisions. The authors hypothesize, therefore, that new business venturing should be related to the expected corruption level.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors follow Cordis (2009) to calculate the expected rate of public corruption given observed levels of public corruption. The authors embed the expected level of corruption in a relatively standard model of business venturing, which the authors estimate using a cross section of the US states covering the period of 1986-2009.
Findings
Using a relatively standard model of business venturing that accounts for variation in predicted corruption levels, the authors find that entrepreneurs launch more businesses in states with higher predicted corruption.
Originality/value
To the knowledge, no one has previously tested the impact of expected corruption on entrepreneurial activity.
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In this chapter, the author provides an overview of some central issues of the book. First she shows the similarities in the challenges to increase the participation and success…
Abstract
In this chapter, the author provides an overview of some central issues of the book. First she shows the similarities in the challenges to increase the participation and success of Roma people in education and lifelong learning in the selected European countries; then she discusses their policies and support programmes, which on the one hand try to improve the social situation of the Roma while promoting minority language and culture on the other hand. The author finds the reason for their similarities regarding the wording, defining and communicating and also concerning the main ideas and concrete projects for possible solutions, in the Roma inclusion policy of the European Union in the frame of the Open Method of Coordination, which has been introduced within the Lisbon Strategy, linked to the idea of lifelong learning. She considers the realisation of these policy measures at national, regional and local levels to have shown only unsatisfactory results until now.
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The paper aims to rediscover the subtle heart and discuss its importance in relation to conversations regarding sustainability.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to rediscover the subtle heart and discuss its importance in relation to conversations regarding sustainability.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the imaginal approach of the author’s doctoral research, this paper is informed by the discourse of transpersonal psychology, attempting to open a space through which it becomes possible to perceive the heart differently.
Findings
This paper discusses the idea that knowledge as generated through the heart has been rendered subservient to knowledge generated through the mind/brain through a dominant/medical narrative (Bound Alberti, 2012). This means that the heart’s wisdom and the heart’s benevolent qualities cannot gain traction at the level at which decisions are made in society.
Research limitations/implications
While the heart is not unproblematic, and can carry notions of moral superiority, this paper is written as an appeal to create safe enough spaces to bring the heart back into conversation at the level of political discourse.
Practical implications
This paper suggests that it is the approach of the heart, the qualities and characteristics that the heart embodies, and the different way of being in the world that the heart makes possible, which could play an important role in guiding us towards a more sustainable world. When taken seriously, the heart offers a way of engaging with, and thinking about, ideas of relationship, wholeness and interconnection – all of which have been identified as important by numerous scholars in relation to engaging with global challenges (de Witt, 2016).
Social implications
This paper suggests that it is the approach of the heart and the different way of being in the world that the heart makes possible, which could play an important role in guiding humanity towards a more sustainable world.
Originality/value
Since the late 1900s, scholars have been calling for creative thinking in relation to engaging with the myriad of issues facing our planet, and this paper is written as a response to that call – creating a platform for the heart to speak and making a case for its importance in conversations relating to sustainability.
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