Purpose – After a brief glance at the global labour market after the financial meltdown the paper aims to explain some general mechanisms of short-time work in Germany. Furthermore it seeks to present an overview of the costs of short-time work for the establishments with respect to the latest...

We examine the determinants of Japanese foreign direct investment (FDI) focusing on institutional and social factors. Using panel data on 59 countries from 1995 to 2008, we find that host countries with free and open markets and greater cultural distance from Japan attract Japanese FDI. Good...

Purpose – This study seeks to investigate the differences in three aspects of job satisfaction – total pay, promotion prospects, and respect received from one's supervisor – between male heterosexual and gay employees in Athens, Greece. Design/methodology/approach – To determine whether...

There is growing regulatory pressure on firms worldwide to address the under-representation of women in senior positions. Regulators have taken a variety of approaches to the issue. We investigate a jurisdiction that has issued recommendations and disclosure requirements, rather than...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which “corporate governance” and “conservatism” variables can contribute to the predictive ability of corporate financial disclosures. Design/methodology/approach – Multiple discriminant analysis is used to differentiate...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to test two agency-based hypotheses regarding the effect of ownership concentration on dividend policy using a large sample of Japanese firms. Design/methodology/approach – Level regressions associating payout rates to ownership concentration are run....

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of corporate governance mechanisms on the financial performance of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) listed firms. Design/methodology/approach – Relying on a sample of 95 UAE listed firms affiliated to financial and non-financial...

This paper assesses conflicts of interest between banks and their client firms via the merger transaction by examining the wealth gain of merger acquirers who were listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1990–2004. The paper reports two main findings. First, acquiring firms did not gain from...

The Japanese system of corporate governance andin particular the role played by banks andother financial institutions have been thesubject of considerable research andcontroversy in recent years. We estimate theimpact of equity ownership by financialinstitutions on firm performance in Japan...