Department of Accounting and Finance

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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14078/21

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Belt‐and‐Road Initiative: driving the need to understand intellectual capital in Chinese multinational enterprises
(2020) Wei, William Xiaojun; Swallow, Phillip; Kong, Eric; Thomson, Stanley Bruce
China's Belt‐and‐Road Initiative (BRI) is one of the most ambitious trade and development projects in history which intends to link Chinese multinational enterprises (CMNEs) to the Asian subcontinent, the Middle East, Africa, and Europe through two trade routes, land and sea. The project involves infrastructure development, human knowledge, and international relations to develop trade relationships. Increased competition along the two routes will see other governments taking initiatives to protect the business community in their nations; thus, adding barriers that must be overcome by CMNEs. The success of CMNEs in the BRI relies on the three components—structural, human, and relational—which are the three components of intellectual capital (IC). Through the use of IC CMNEs can assess their strengths and weaknesses. It will be the understanding of these strengths and weaknesses which will drive the success or failure of CMNEs.
Boosting financial literacy: three researchers make the case for increased financial literacy education, led by CPAs
(2021) Feils, Dorothee; Malin, Michelle; Perez-de-Toledo, Eloisa
Financial literacy, or more specifically the lack thereof, has been in the news for some time. Financial literacy can be defined as the possession of appropriate knowledge and skills required to manage one’s own financial resources properly. This lack of financial literacy is ever more concerning, given the global trends towards more complex financial decisions that individuals must make. For example, Canada and other countries have seen a trend of defined benefit pension plans replaced by defined contribution pension plans, shifting the financial risk for retirement income from the corporation to the individual. In addition, individuals have greater access to financial transactions through internet purchasing, the advent of cryptocurrencies, crowdfunding, and crowd financing. Put together, individuals today are making considerably more financial decisions throughout their lives due to increased access to new financial products and longer lifespans. Yet, despite its growing importance, existing academic research has consistently shown that the average financial literacy of individuals is quite low across various demographics and countries.
Chartered professional accountant's competencies: the synergy between accounting education and employers' needs—evidence from Alberta
(2023) Elbarrad, Sherif; Belassi, Walid
This study examines the competencies delineated by the Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA) in Canada and explores the gap between what universities provide, represented by the students' confidence in the knowledge acquired—and what the accounting profession in Canada requires and deems necessary.
Deviant scrutiny methodology: applications in the war against inequality
(2020) Bocatto, Evandro; Perez-de-Toledo, Eloisa
We argue that research methodologies in management sciences often neglect the negative impact businesses may have on societies. To mitigate this problem, we suggest a deliberate integration of adjacent effects in the data collection of any topics under study. We call this approach to data sampling and collection, deviant scrutiny methodology. Deviant scrutiny can be defined as research methodology that emphasizes an integrative data collection that actively incorporates a variety of externalities into the dataset. The methodology shares three characteristics with Thomas Kuhn’s view: 1. an identified conception, metaphysics and values, viz., the approach includes externalities (i.e., sense of purpose); 2. an historical consideration focusing on emerging topics, or social facts, that affects society and organizations (i.e., sense of context); and, 3. the compulsory, by protocol, integration of evidences that challenge taken for granted assumptions and theories, and confronts the biases affecting scientific communities-of-practice (i.e., sense of awareness).
Does China’s outward direct investment improve the institutional quality of the belt and road countries?
(2020) Pan, Chunyang; Wei, William Xiaojun; Muralidharan, Etayankara; Liao, Jia; Andreosso-O'Callaghan, Bernadette
This article investigates the effects of China’s outward direct investment (ODI) on the institutional quality of the Belt and Road (B&R) countries. Based on a panel data set of 63 B&R countries during the period 2003 to 2016, we find that China’s ODI improves the institutional quality of B&R countries not only in the short run but also in the long run. Further, although China’s ODI exerts no differential impacts on host country institutional dimensions of “control of corruption,” “government effectiveness,” and “political stability” in countries with different natural resource endowments, it improves their institutional dimensions of “regulatory quality” and “rule of law,” implying that China’s ODI may help the host B&R countries minimize the “resource curse”. As one of the most important strategies for China’s opening-up development in the current era, the B&R initiative serves as means to promote sustainable development of B&R countries. The article therefore contributes to existing scholarship on the institutional effects of China’s ODI and sheds light on the mechanisms that drive sustainable development.
Finding hard evidences for the soft rhetoric of the stakeholder theory
(2018) Bocatto, Evandro; Perez-de-Toledo, Eloisa
The hard-science type of rhetoric present in the dominant model in management is put under scrutiny. As a result, the shareholders' profit maximization ideal is understood as just a competing socially constructed rhetoric. We are motivated by: 1. why is it taken for granted that the dominant model of business activity is scientific? and, 2. How the competing stakeholder approach would look like? We present mathematical equations that capture other constructs (e.g. women and employee participation, CSR, CER) and propose a stakeholder index (GOV-Icompr). Results indicate that companies that include other stakeholders have superior market value (measured by Tobin 's q).
German investment in Ireland and in the central and east European countries
(2007) Wei, William Xiaojun; Andreosso-O'Callaghan, Bernadette; Wuntsch, Michael von
This paper draws on the findings of a questionnaire survey and the results of interviews on German multinational companies’ (MNCs) investment location choices in both Ireland and the EU new member countries. It focuses on the investigation of the internationalisation strategies and location choices of German manufacturing MNCs against the background of growing regional economic integration, and in particular the fifth EU enlargement. Based on the examination of FDI data, the study also aims at highlighting the current level of German FDI in the above destinations and at discussing possible future German FDI trends.
How do manufacturing enterprises construct e-commerce platforms for sustainable development? A case study of resource orchestration
(2020) Hu, Jingbo; Ouyang, Taohua; Wei, William Xiaojun; Cai, Jiawei
The existing literatures mainly focus on the pricing, strategic significance and sustainable development characteristics of the e-commerce platform, and lack deep research on mechanisms in the process of construction like main structure of recourses and driving force. This paper takes Haier as a Chinese example and explores how manufacturing enterprises create and develop the sustainable e-commerce platform. The research findings show that: (1) An e-commerce platform respectively carries the functions of sales channels, service differences and innovation incubation in different stages of the manufacturing enterprises’ sustainable development; (2) For managing e-commerce platform of manufacturing enterprises’ sustainable development, resource orchestration can effectively realize the integration of value creation and resource; (3) Finally, it further reveals that the driving power which resource orchestration continuously promotes for the sustainable e-commerce platforms to construct is from the co-creation value of manufacturers and users. This paper discusses the structure of e-commerce platforms based on the main characteristics of each resource, and systematically explores the mechanism and evolutionary driving force of resource orchestration to promote the construction of e-commerce platforms for the sustainable development. It complements and enriches the innovation ecosystem and resource orchestration theory, providing significant practical guidance to the sustainable development of manufacturing enterprises.
How does home government influence the internationalization of emerging market firms? The mediating role of strategic intents to internationalize
(2019) Angulo-Ruiz, Fernando; Pergelova, Albena; Wei, William Xiaojun
The purpose of this paper is to focus on the differential impact of government promotional measures and government ownership on two internationalization variables: location and speed of internationalization of emerging market multinationals (EMNEs). Central to the authors’ study is the mediating role of strategic intents to internationalize. In particular, we study how government impacts the resource-seeking, market-seeking and technology-seeking motives to internationalize. The empirical setting for the paper is Chinese companies that have internationalized via an equity based entry mode. The authors employ 672 firm responses collected by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. The empirical results demonstrate that different home government measures have differential impact on internationalization outcomes. Government promotional measures (such as direct incentives and bilateral agreements to support internationalization) have only an indirect effect on international location and speed through the effect they have on the strategic motives to internationalize; while government ownership in the company has a direct impact on international location. The study highlights that home governments are shaping EMNEs strategic intent. Home government can influence EMNEs internationalization choices by providing resource flows through financial resources and state ownership or through asset-accumulation mechanisms via promotional measures .Policy makers in emerging markets need to develop policies focused on the specific motivations that firms have when internationalizing. EMNEs are suggested to take advantage of government policies more intentionally. The theoretical contribution centers on identifying important mediating mechanisms pointing to the interplay between government policies and international location and speed of firms. The authors contribute to the growing stream of research on internationalization of emerging market firms by building a sound theoretical model and examining empirically the role of home government in the internationalization of EMNEs.
How increased volume of low-stakes testing improved student engagement and performance without additional grading burden
(2023) Saccucci, Frank; Enomoto, Kayoko; Warner, Richard; Nygaard, Claus
In his chapter, Franco (Frank) Saccucci contributes to this book, Enhancing Student Learning Outcomes in Higher Education, by illustrating how an increased volume of low-stakes testing in the classroom improved student engagement and performance without causing additional educator fatigue to either the marking efforts or budget. He relates to the three phases of the central ESLO model of the book in this way: In the DESIGNING phase, he explains why and how he developed the approach incorporating regular low-stakes testing into his teaching approach. He demonstrates how quizzes are carefully planned to strengthen students’ memory and practical use of formulas, while a peermarking system is introduced to reduce the teacher fatigue from grading. In the DOING phase, he describes how he implements low-stakes testing in the classroom setting. Short quizzes are seamlessly integrated into class sessions, and the peer-marking system actively engages students in a less conventional aspect of the learning process. The approach fosters a ‘gamified’ atmosphere that further motivates student engagement and participation while ensuring consistent oversight of the effectiveness of the process across different institutions. In the DIAGNOSING phase, the author evaluated the effectiveness of this teaching approach through student surveys and direct observations of student performance. The survey feedback indicated an increased preference for this testing method and improved readiness for major exams. The observations supported enhanced student engagement, demonstrating the success of the intervention in improving learning and performance. An unexpected outcome was the gamification of the learning process, which further enhanced student motivation.
The human resources management of a democratic action: intentionality, elements and functioning
(2018) Bocatto, Evandro; Perez-de-Toledo, Eloisa
In reaction to the issue of citizens’ distrust, apathy and disengagement from representative democracy, we investigate democratic actions in which participation, deliberation, and political engagement take place: the participatory budgeting (PB) of municipalities. By integrating two epistemologies, historical-hermeneutic and empirical-analytical, we interpret the intentions to commit, and analyze the enabling conditions of its implementation, viz., PB’s human resources management. Content analysis methodology converts pieces of narratives into units of meaning, we provide evidences of the reasons why this reality is socially created, and capture its functioning. Findings from five cities show that the PB starts with the local government’s intention to respond to historical demands of civil society regarding direct participation in government. As a mean to this goal, we explain the human resources practices of attracting, developing, and retaining participants. We provide a practical benchmark for local authorities’ policy development, and for the literature of participatory management in municipalities.
The impact of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards on the value of cash holdings: evidence from Canadian firms
(2018) Perez-de-Toledo, Eloisa; Bocatto, Evandro
Investments in environmental and social initiatives by companies have increased considerably in recent years, as a response to an increasingly complex and demanding socioeconomic environment. However, a question that still needs to be answered is whether these investments provide a positive return or contribute to value creation. This paper aims to contribute at filling this gap by investigating the relationship between Corporate Social Performance (CSP) as measured by investments in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices and firm value by comparing the market value of an extra dollar of cash for firms with high and low ESG ratings. Our results show that an extra dollar of cash is valued at a premium of $0.13 (or 13%) for high CSP firms as compared to low CSP firms. We find evidence to support the stakeholders theory and the resource based view by showing that managers who invest in ESG practices that receive the support of key stakeholders are acquiring unique resources and creating a sustainable competitive advantage, which positively affects value. We also show evidence that financial slack has value in the presence of future investment opportunities and when the cost and availability of capital is uncertain.
Integration by emerging economy multinationals: perspectives from Chinese mergers and acquisitions
(2017) Muralidharan, Etayankara; Wei, William Xiaojun; Liu, Xiaoyu
The integration process of international mergers and acquisitions by emerging economy multinationals is fraught with challenges of liabilities of foreignness and country of origin. We use insights from institutional theory and draw on the experience of Chinese international mergers and acquisitions to explore these challenges faced by emerging economy multinationals during postmerger integration. We find that these challenges, which are primarily caused by informal institutional differences, can be overcome by developing organizational capabilities for integration and employing mechanisms for appropriate control and justice during the integration process. The study contributes to the ongoing discussions about the relevance of sociocultural influences in the successful integration of international mergers and acquisitions. Our framework proposes initiatives that managers from emerging economies can take to overcome postmerger integration challenges.
Knowledge acquisition and meaning‑making in the participatory budgeting of local governments
(2020) Bocatto, Evandro; Perez-de-Toledo, Eloisa
The participatory budgeting of Brazilian municipalities is one of the most publicized examples of democracy‑in‑action that fosters citizenship knowledge acquisition in local government. This research adds two new perspectives to the participatory process. The first one demonstrates how knowledge is acquired and shared, and which are the new contextual conditions for this acquisition to happen, which we call, the knowledge acquisition process. At second, we explain the meaning‑making process as a subjective way to acquire knowledge about oneself, the others, and the democratic systems. Citizens, public servants, policy‑makers, and politicians acquire new meanings for the role they play in local government and become reengaged on democracy through the ontological change from representative to participatory and deliberative democracy. In this qualitative research, our methodological bricolage relies on the triangulation of methods (i.e. documentation review and observations of behaviors and procedures; in‑depth‑interviews; and, focus groups) and sources (i.e. comparison of cases, and stakeholders). The bricolage deconstructs these social actions on their constituents, vis‑a‑vis hidden intentions; instruments; and, implementation. Among the several Brazilian cases, this longitudinal study (i.e. 12 years) concentrates on five of them. Our findings suggest that the participation in the process allows for a change on individuals’ understanding of democracy, enhances citizenship knowledge acquisition, reframes the meaning of citizenship, and improves the quality of relationships among the stakeholders involved. In the participatory budgeting, citizens learn, what critical theory calls “to emancipate”. They act as if they were members of an ideal kingdom of ends in which they were both subjects and sovereigns at the same time, which guarantees citizenship engagement, learning and development.
Managing political risks of Chinese contracted projects in Libya
(2012) Zhang, Juan; Wei, William Xiaojun
The contracted project is the basic form of SinoLibyan economic cooperation. The authors hope that Chinese constructors will learn from this case study. This article assesses the political risk for Chinese contracted projects at three levels and studies their countermeasures to this emergency and the effects of political risks on Chinese constructors in Libya. The research finds that Chinese constructors are not good at political risk management due to their traditional attitudes toward risk and the attitudes of the Chinese government toward overseas losses of Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs). However, Chinese SOEs are more experienced than private-owned enterprises in dealing with emergencies.
MNCs' R&D talent management in China: aligning practices with strategies
(2019) Wei, William Xiaojun; Li, Lydia Qianqian; Xin, Katherine; Pucik, Vlado
This paper aims to propose practical recommendations in accordance with the strategic roles played by research and development (R&D) in multinational companies (MNCs).
Modelling EU FDI deflection between the new EU member states and Chinese provinces
(2008) Wei, William Xiaojun; Andreosso-O'Callaghan, Bernadette
The issue of regionalism and how it affects FDI allocation within and between regions has not yet been dealt with satisfactorily by the voluminous literature on FDI. The issue of FDI dispersion, or of how traditional recipients of FDI flows can be affected by rising competitive advantages in countries of the same region as well as in countries of other regions, has received little attention. This article introduces the concept of EU FDI deflection across regions and measures it for 14 chosen locations in the new EU member states and Chinese provinces against the background of the fifth EU enlargement.
Organizational response to goods failure complaints: the role of culture on perceptions of interactional justice and customer satisfaction
(2021) Muralidharan, Etayankara; Guo, Wenxia; Fazel, Hesham; Wei, William Xiaojun
It is well recognized that in a service failure context, cultural value orientations interact with firm responses to service failures to influence perceptions of fairness (justice) and satisfaction. We examine whether this effect is applicable in the case of goods failure complaint context. Using an experimental design with data from Hong Kong and Canada, we investigate how customer evaluations of firm responses are influenced by interplay of consumers’ value orientation and nature of firm responses to the goods failure complaint [whether complaint resolution is initiated by the firm (vs. initiated by the customer), customer is informed about the progress of complaint resolution (vs. not informed about the progress)]. Our findings reveal that the cultural values of collectivism and uncertainty avoidance do interact with the nature of firm’s response to influence perception of interactional justice. Finally, interactional justice positively impacts overall complaint resolution satisfaction.
Perspective chapter: the audacity of risk – contemporary failures
(2025) Roberts, Dominic; Salifu, Ekililu; Akanga, Fidelis; Maček, Anita; Murg, Michael
In Modern society, risk is a complicated concept often taken for granted, and measured, calculated and predicted as a surety in most instances using mathematical and calculative analysis as concrete affirmation of market behavior. While this approach to risk is widely used and accepted as a premise to market assertion, it does not incorporate some of the facets crucial to understanding risk. The focus of contemporary risk management, especially for financial houses, in which some of the biggest culprits are banks, is on measuring and predicting risk rather than understanding this evolving concept. This chapter delves into the social aspects of risk that are usually ignored and presents some of the demits of banking and other financial institutions that plague a heavily calculative approach to risk. Our research on which this chapter is based has found that this measurable and calculative approach to risk has impaired the ability of risk to be explored in other dimensions. For example, the concept of risk, if better understood before being measured, can possibly lead to better decision making both at the micro and macro level of operations that can eventually result in a more stable, robust financial system.
A preliminary forecast of the production status of China’s Daqing oil field from the perspective of EROI
(2014) Xu, Bo; Feng, Lianyong; Wei, William Xiaojun; Hu, Yan; Wang, Jianliang
Energy return on investment (EROI) and net energy are useful metrics for analyzing energy production physically rather than monetarily. However, these metrics are not widely applied in China. In this study, we forecast the Daqing oilfield’s EROI from 2013 to 2025 using existing data for crude oil and natural gas production and the basic rules of EROI. Unfortunately, our calculations indicate that the oilfield’s EROI will continuously decline from 7.3 to 4.7, and the associated net energy will continuously decline from 1.53 × 1012 MJ to 1.25 × 1012 MJ. If China’s energy intensity does not decline as planned in the next ten years, then the EROI of Daqing will be even lower than our estimates. Additionally, relating the EROI to the monetary return on investment (MROI) in a low production and high intensity scenario, Daqing’s EROI will decline to 2.9 and its MROI will decline to 1.8 by 2025. If the “law of minimum EROI” and the assumed “minimum MROI” are taken into account, then we estimate that both energy pressure and economic pressure will restrict Daqing’s production by 2025.

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