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This article aims to discuss some of the most common ways in which business decisions are affected by cognitive biases. It focuses on the individual level of decision making and discusses how biases are deeply entrenched in the way that many decisions are made. It also discusses how flaws in decision making can escalate when executives are under pressure, over‐confident or part of a group.

This article draws on a range of research in cognitive and organizational psychology to show the potential effect of cognitive biases on corporate decision making.

The article argues that it is necessary to develop a better understanding of the effect of cognitive biases on executive decision making. Whilst research suggests that many aspects of decision‐making processes operate outside one's conscious awareness, it is suggested that these flaws may be easier to monitor and control when one is aware of their potential impact on corporate decisions.

The paper demonstrates how a lack of awareness of the widespread operation of cognitive biases reduces the possibilities for good corporate governance.

Explores the relationship between enterprise and accountability within the context of the UK corporate governance debate over the last decade. The development of the corporation, through the concept of limited liability and the consequent separation of ownership and control, enabled entrepreneurial activity to flourish within a framework of corporate accountability defined by company law and accounting and audit practice. Financial scandals during the 1980s highlighted the apparent inadequacies of this framework to meet the demands of the current business environment, leading to a series of policy recommendations relating to corporate governance. These recommendations were initially based on a central concern with accountability and control but it has been argued that this focus potentially inhibits enterprise: more recent pronouncements have emphasised broad principles rather than detailed prescription in an attempt to correct this balance. This shift in emphasis is traced and it is suggested there is sparse evidence to support the contention that accountability hinders enterprise.

Robert Franklin Hoxie was of the first generation of University of Chicago economists, a figure of significance in his own time. He is often heralded as the first of the Institutional economists and the impetus behind the field of labor economics. Yet today, his contributions appear as mere footnotes in the history of economic thought, when mentioned at all, despite the fact that in his professional and popular writings he tackled some of the most pressing problems of the day. The topics upon which he focused included bimetallism, price theory, methodology, the economics profession, socialism, syndicalism, scientific management, and trade unionism, the last being the field with which he is most closely associated. His work attracted the notice of some of the most famous economists of his time, including Frank Fetter, J. Laurence Laughlin, Thorstein Veblen, and John R. Commons. For all the promise, his suicide at the age of 48 ended what could have been a storied career. This paper is an attempt to resurrect Hoxie through a review of his life and work, placing him within the social and intellectual milieux of his time.

This study aims to present a framework relating to the organizational value of international assignments (IAs). This extends the existing framework by Lepak et al. (2007) and applies to other fields researching questions of value.

This is a conceptual paper that applies new thinking to the critical practical and theoretical issue of organizational value in global mobility (GM) and international business (IB) literature. The Lepak et al. (2007) framework is explained, used and extended to appraise the value of IAs to organizations.

The primary contribution is the establishment of a value framework within which future IA research can position itself, refining extant measures and thereby enabling greater cohesion in future studies. The secondary contribution, impacting beyond the field of GM, is the development of this framework, including the identification and discussion of value itself, the significance of organizational sub-levels, the extension of the definitions of isolating mechanisms and competition to explicate value capture, the importance of temporal analysis and the inclusion of value assessment.

The paper is limited by its application to IAs at the organizational level only. However, the relationship with other levels is also explored. Research within different contexts or focusing on the other levels of value will increase the understanding of value.

Definitions of the value of IAs are extended, and practitioner implications are discussed.

A new framework for evaluating the organizational value of IAs and new definitions to enable this value to be assessed are produced.

The London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) is considered to be the most important interest rate in finance upon which trillions in financial contracts are decided. In 2008, it was revealed that the LIBOR traders were rigging the interest rates. Yet, there is an unresolved question that regulators and banking officials did not address in their quest to seek answers to the fraud: Were the banks under financial strain when they underreported their LIBOR rates? To answer this question, the article posits that the pressure to meet market expectations led the banks to experience financial strain. Data were gathered from 2004 to 2008 on the banks that were involved in the fraud (fraud banks) and matched with a control group of non-fraud banks. The results from a logistic regression model found sufficient statistical evidence to support the claim that fraud will be greater in banks characterized by a higher level of organizational complexity. Variables such as percent of outside directors, board members on the audit committee, and number of employees were all found to be statistically significant. These variables may offer key insights into detecting and preventing frauds in banks.

The purpose of this paper is to interview Sir John Parker, Chairman of the National Grid.

The paper takes the form of an interview.

Sir John Parker shares his thoughts and advice on a range of topics, including leadership challenges, decision making and strategic direction.

Provides valuable insights from one of the most influential directors in British business.