Whistleblowing is often about disclosing wrongdoings by members of organisations to persons or organisations that may be able to effect action. Media would at times publish stories of whistleblowers who engage in ‘heroic’ acts of exposing wrongdoings at work, but the whistlebowers often face significant negative consequences of their whistleblowing efforts. This book examines effects of national and organisational cultures on the whistleblowing decisions of employees. The book provides empirical evidence of association between organisational culture and whistleblowing and there appears to be a lower likelihood of whistleblowing in organisations that focus more on the cultural dimensions of respect for people, innovation and stability. It also illustrates how remaining silent or blowing the whistle in response to observed wrongdoings affects employees’ key work-related attitudes. This book would interest those wish to gain better understanding of the relationship between culture and whistleblowing in organisations.

This paper examines the hypothesis that non-U.S. firms cross-list in the United States to increase protection of their minority shareholders. Cross-listing on an organized exchange (NYSE or Nasdaq) in the U.S. subjects a non-U.S. firm to a number of provisions of U.S. securities law and requires the firm to conform to U.S. GAAP. It therefore increases the expected cost to managers of extracting private benefits, and commits the firm to protecting minority shareholders' interests. The expected relation between the quantity of cross-listings and shareholder protection in the home country is ambiguous, because managers will consider both expected private benefits and the public value of their shares. However, there are clear predictions about the relation between subsequent equity issues, shareholder protection and cross-listings: 1) Equity issues increase following all cross-listings, regardless of shareholder protection. 2) The increase should be larger for cross-listings from countries with weak protection. 3) Equity issues following cross-listings in the U.S. will tend to be in the U.S. for firms from countries with strong protection and outside the U.S. for firms from countries with weak protection. We find strong evidence supporting predictions 1) and 3), and weak evidence consistent with hypothesis 2). Overall, the desire to protect shareholder rights appears to be one reason why some non-U.S. firms cross-list in the United States. However, it probably is not an important determinant of the large recent increase in cross-listings, because legal requirements potentially deter a number of firms that do have a demand for equity capital from cross-listing in the U.S.

The explosion in the number, size and complexity of mergers, acquisitions and alliances during the 1990s demonstrates how ingrained business combinations have become in the global business community.

Essay from the year 2005 in the subject Business economics - Banking, Stock Exchanges, Insurance, Accounting, grade: very good (UK: grade A), University of Glasgow (Department of Accounting and Finance), course: International Financial Management, language: English, abstract: Some non-American companies benefit from a US-listing and others do not even cross-list in the US. Several empirical studies show that foreign companies, which are listed in the US, are worth more. However, less than one out of 10 large public non-American companies float their shares in the US (Doidge et al., 2004). Why is cross-listing beneficial to some companies and not to others? In 1997 more than 4,700 companies were internationally cross-listed. But, during the past several years this number decreased significantly by 50% to 2,300 (end of 2002) companies (Karolyi, 2004). Today more and more foreign companies acknowledge that they cannot cross-list in the US. Moreover, some companies admit that they are no longer even willing to cross-list, because of the high costs and strict requirements (Economist, 2005). Still, there must be a benefit for some to cross-list. A number of studies point out that the benefits regarding cross-listing include a lower cost of capital, access to foreign capital markets, an extended global shareholder base, greater liquidity in the trading of shares, publicity, visibility and prestige. On the other hand, these companies face costs, which might erode the benefits. Typical costs associated with a US-listing are the SECreporting, reconciliation of financial statements with home and foreign standards, direct listing costs, compliance requirements, exposure to legal liabilities, taxes and various trading frictions as well as investment banking fees (Karolyi, 2004 and Doidge et al., 2004). This essay aims to examine the empirical evidence regarding the merit of cross-listing shares on foreign equity markets, especially listing shares in the US. First, it critically reviews the conventional wisdom. Secondly, it examines the new approach of the cross-listing premium. Finally, it ends with a summary of this project and my own opinions.

Over the years, many corporations have been trying to determine what they can and should do to contribute to the sustainability of the economic, social and ecological environment within which they operate. Corporate social responsibility has become a key senior management issue worldwide and an increasingly debated topic in China. This book aims at helping companies operating in China to better assess and exercise their corporate social responsibility (CSR) in specific contexts. The purpose of this book is to show that CSR has a strong economic pay back in the long run, that it is a key success factor in nurturing corporate excellence, and that a sense of urgency and accrued inventiveness are required from companies operating in China. Cross-disciplinary in scope, the book aims at helping students and analysts in political science, governance, international relations and Chinese studies to understand and appreciate the unique role that firms play in shaping a new China. It focuses on the relationship between the state, civil society and corporations in the Chinese context. It researches the conditions under which this relationship might result in redefining China''s developmental model. This practical, business-oriented book takes into account China''s classical and contemporary thought on CSR. It is the result of a long research and collaborative process with several institutions and industry leaders .