Tilburg University

About: Tilburg University is a education organization based out in Tilburg, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Anxiety. The organization has 5550 authors who have published 22330 publications receiving 791335 citations.

The concept of 'flexicurity': A new approach to regulating employment and labour markets

Abstract: This article deals with the new policy concept of ‘flexicurity’ in view of the emerging flexibility-security nexus currently faced by the European Union, national governments, sectors of industry, individual companies and workers On the one hand there is a strong demand to make labour markets, employment and work organisation more flexible At same time, an equally strong demand exists for providing security to employees – especially vulnerable groups – and for preserving social cohesion in our societies Policy-makers, legislators, trade unions and employers’ organisations have a strong need for new theory-inspired policy models and concepts that promise to reconcile these goals of enhancing both flexibility and security that at first sight seem incompatible This article discusses the origins, conditions and potential of ‘flexicurity’ as policy or strategy at various levels of industrial relations It also outlines a research agenda

What Determines the Number of Bank Relationships? Cross-Country Evidence

Abstract: We investigate the determinants of multiple-bank relationships using a new data set comprised of 1129 firms across twenty European countries. We first document large cross-country variation in the average number of bank relationships per firm, exposing a richness in the financial systems of European countries that goes beyond simply being termed "bank-dominated." We find, after controlling for firm and industry-specific characteristics, that the average number of bank relationships per firm is non-monotonically related to the fragility of a country?s banking system and negatively related to the efficiency of its bankruptcy process and enforcement of creditor rights. Moreover, we find that although concentrated banking systems reduce the number of bank relationships, public bond markets have a complementary effect and increase the average number of banks per firm. We extend our analysis to industry-level effects and also study the robustness of our results using a different data set on bank relationships in Norway. Overall, our study provides a rich set of results that should aid in sorting out theories in banking, corporate governance and financial system architecture.

On the Foundations of Corporate Social Responsibility

Abstract: A firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice and its country’s legal origin are strongly correlated. This relation is valid for various CSR ratings coming from several large datasets that comprise more than 23,000 large companies from 114 countries. We find that CSR is more strongly and consistently related to legal origins than to “doing good by doing well”-factors, and most firm and country characteristics such as ownership concentration, political institutions, and degree of globalization. In particular, companies from common law countries have lower level of CSR than companies from civil law countries, and Scandinavian civil law firms assume highest level of CSR. This link between legal origins and CSR seems to be explained by differences in ex post shareholder litigation risk as well as in stakeholder regulations and state involvement in the economy. Evidence from quasi-natural experiments such as scandals and natural disasters suggest that civil law firms are more responsive to CSR shocks than common law firms, and such responsiveness is not likely driven by declining market shares following the shock.

Association of Amyloid and Tau With Cognition in Preclinical Alzheimer Disease : A Longitudinal Study

Abstract: Importance Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging now allows in vivo visualization of both neuropathologic hallmarks of Alzheimer disease (AD): amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles. Observing their progressive accumulation in the brains of clinically normal older adults is critically important to understand the pathophysiologic cascade leading to AD and to inform the choice of outcome measures in prevention trials. Objective To assess the associations among Aβ, tau, and cognition, measured during different observation periods for 7 years. Design, Setting, and Participants Prospective cohort study conducted between 2010 and 2017 at the Harvard Aging Brain Study, Boston, Massachusetts. The study enrolled 279 clinically normal participants. An additional 90 individuals were approached but declined the study or did not meet the inclusion criteria. In this report, we analyzed data from 60 participants who had multiple Aβ and tau PET observations available on October 31, 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures A median of 3 Pittsburgh compound B–PET (Aβ, 2010-2017) and 2 flortaucipir-PET (tau, 2013-2017) images were collected. We used initial PET and slope data, assessing the rates of change in Aβ and tau, to measure cognitive changes. Cognition was evaluated annually using the Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite (2010-2017). Annual consensus meetings evaluated progression to mild cognitive impairment. Results Of the 60 participants, 35 were women (58%) and 25 were men (42%); median age at inclusion was 73 years (range, 65-85 years). Seventeen participants (28%) exhibited an initial high Aβ burden. An antecedent rise in Aβ was associated with subsequent changes in tau (1.07 flortaucipir standardized uptake value ratios [SUVr]/PiB-SUVr; 95% CI, 0.13-3.46;P = .02). Tau changes were associated with cognitive changes (−3.28zscores/SUVR; 95% CI, −6.67 to −0.91;P = .001), covarying baseline Aβ and tau. Tau changes were greater in the participants who progressed to mild cognitive impairment (n = 6) than in those who did not (n = 11; 0.05 SUVr per year; 95% CI, 0.03-0.07;P = .001). A serial mediation model demonstrated that the association between initial Aβ and final cognition, measured 7 years later, was mediated by successive changes in Aβ and tau. Conclusions and Relevance We identified sequential changes in normal older adults, from Aβ to tau to cognition, after which the participants with high Aβ with greater tau increase met clinical criteria for mild cognitive impairment. These findings highlight the importance of repeated tau-PET observations to track disease progression and the importance of repeated amyloid-PET observations to detect the earliest AD pathologic changes.

Asian management in the 21st century

Abstract: Contrary to popular opinion, the crucial elements of the management process show strong continuity over time, but differ from one country to another, as a function of the local culture. Recent research reveals fundamental differences in the goals of business leaders from different societies. The article explores general characteristics of Asian management as opposed to management elsewhere, and what the study of Asian management and its cultural origins mean for the emerging Asian multinationals and for the state of the art in management research worldwide in the twenty-first century.