Showing papers on "Opportunism published in 2023"

Impact of Work Load and Stress in Call Center Employees: Evidence from Call Center Employees

Abstract: The study investigates the Impact of Workload and Technologies on the Performance of Call Centre Employees." Single-way ANOVA is used for analysis. In this study, we use questionnaires to gather data on the variables Gender, Age Group (In Years), Education, Experience (In Yrs.), Daily Practice, Relational Uncertainty, Relational Distance, Opportunism, and Inter-partner incompatibility. The outcomes of the study confirm that the study observe that the significant and positive effect of workload and technologies on the performance of Call Centre Employees. It implies that when departments use the results of rational uncertainty, there are considerable differences between them. The result shows that there is positive relationship between number of hours use mobile and online libraries. However, the finding exhibit that a positive and significant associations exist between no. of hour mobile use and mobile distract. Moreover, the regression result confirms that Rational Distance, Number of hours, Age, inter partner relationship and opportunism have significant effect on job satisfaction. Furth more, the coefficient value of Age has significant effect on Inter-partner incompatibility. While the Relational Distance has insignificant effect opportunity to get a better job in this company.

Exploiting Ultimatum Power When Responders Are Better Informed − Theoretical and Experimental Analysis of Conflict Resolution

Abstract: In dyadic ultimatum bargaining proposers, who are privately informed about the pie size, can exploit their “moral wiggle room” by engaging in unfairness which is unobservable by responders. Our setup instead assumes better informed responders and, as a consequence, limits ultimatum power and questions conflict resolution via acceptance of ultimatum proposals. In addition to testing the game theoretic solution, based on common opportunism, we assess whether two different market framings boost benchmark behavior. Our results confirm nearly universal responder opportunism. Although the benchmark proposer demand is modal, proposer choices display substantial variation, even in later rounds and even in the range in which lower demands would let both parties expect to earn more. Nevertheless, such inefficiently large demands become less frequent across rounds. Our results also show that market framing is insignificant and more so in later rounds.

The Role of Cognition and Motivation in Understanding Internal Governance and Hierarchical Failure: A Discriminating Alignment Analysis

Abstract: Transaction cost economics (TCE) carefully analyzes market failure while remaining largely silent about hierarchical failure. We argue this omission occurs because TCE’s opportunism assumption does not consider organizational member motivations under different hierarchical forms. Thus, TCE does not fully examine opportunistic behavior under hierarchy, resulting in an incomplete governance analysis. To fill this gap, we build a discriminating alignment theory of hierarchical choice that incorporates explicit motivations under each hierarchical form. We make three contributions to TCE with this theory. First, using the counterproductive work behavior and goal framing literatures, we predict specific motivations (effort, visceral, financial or status opportunism, or collaboration) across hierarchical forms. Second, we predict when “efficient” hierarchical forms (mapped from Williamson’s internal governance analysis) do not effectively mitigate opportunistic behavior, creating hierarchical failure. In these cases, we augment the hierarchical forms with supplemental governance mechanisms necessary to efficiently govern the exchange. Finally, we investigate how different motivations across hierarchical forms lead to excess misalignment costs to enhance our understanding of hierarchical failures. Examining how both transaction hazards and specific motivations drive particular behaviors allows for a more nuanced understanding of specific “costs and competencies” of hierarchy and in turn hierarchical failure in TCE.

Corporate social responsibility: opportunistic behavior under earnings management?

Abstract: This paper investigates whether companies actively use social responsibility to divert public attention from the quality of their accounting information when implementing earnings management. The results show a significant positive relationship between EM and CSR. The mechanism of influence suggests that the risk of share price collapse, investor sentiment and the cost of capital play a mediating role. Subgroup tests reveal that this corporate masking and rent-seeking motive is more pronounced in underperforming, non-family-owned and non-state owned firms. Further research finds that corporate governance mechanisms such as equity incentives, fund ownership, and high concentration of equity can moderate this opportunism.

Influence of Paternalistic Leadership on Employee Innovation Behavior and New Venture Performance: The Moderating Role of Leader Humility

Abstract: This study examines how paternalistic leadership in new ventures influences employee innovation behavior and new venture performance. Three dimensions of paternalistic leadership in leader humility have a positive moderating effect on employee innovation behavior. To this end, we proposed and tested the supporting roles of the social cognition theory, social exchange theory, social learning theory, and interpersonal attraction theory. A total of 248 valid questionnaires were collected through a professional survey company for analysis, which revealed that among the three dimensions of paternalistic leadership, benevolent leadership and moral leadership both have a positive impact on employee innovation behavior and new venture performance, while authoritarian leadership has a negative impact. We also discovered that leader humility plays a significantly positive role in moderating the influence of authoritarian leadership, benevolent leadership, and moral leadership on employee innovation behavior. The results demonstrate that paternalistic leaders increase their effectiveness by maintaining humility as a management strategy, creating a superior, innovative atmosphere, and contributing to the progress of employee innovation behavior.

Transaction costs economics and geographical indications: a systematic analysis of the literature

Abstract: Abstract: Transaction Cost Economics (TCE) is one of the most applied economic theories to studies of agrifood chains, especially for presenting approaches that analyze the role of institutions in the relationship between organizations, making it completely adherent to the concept of Coordination, vital in chain management. Agro-industrial chains have continuously experienced mechanisms to reduce information asymmetry between producer and final consumer, one of these mechanisms being Geographical Indications (GIs), certifications of origin based on geographic location. This work aims to identify the state-of-the-art of TCE in studies related to GIs, identifying how the topics related to theory are approached and whether or not there are literature gaps in this regard. A systematic literature review was made in two substantial scientific databases using Methodi Ordinatio. The results demonstrate a certain homogeneity of studies, which focuses on Coordination and Governance, as well as a low synergy between the themes. Future studies could enrich the academic literature by contemplating an opposite path to this homogeneousness, either by a) exploring how TCE can explain the development of GIs; b) investigating the opportunism between producers and association members; or c) studying the limited rationality of the links downstream the chain.

Governance of non-state-owned shareholders and corporate capital structure decision: A mechanism test from the opportunistic behavior of management

Abstract: It is an important measure in the reform of state-owned enterprises to improve the efficiency of capital operation by introducing non-state-owned shareholders. This paper explores the impact of non-state shareholder governance on capital structure decision-making by using the data of 2008–2021 A-share state-owned listed companies from the perspective of the speed and deviation of capital structure adjustment. The results reveal that only non-state shareholding has no significant impact on the capital structure adjustment of a company. However, the appointment of senior management by non-state shareholders can speed up the capital structure adjustment and lower the degree of capital structure deviation. Moreover, when the capital structure goes down, the appointment of non-state-owned shareholders plays a larger role in accelerating the capital structure adjustment, which makes the deviation from the actual capital structure and the target capital structure smaller. Further research shows that the above relationship between non-state shareholder governance and the optimization and adjustment of the capital structure only exists in local SOEs and competitive SOEs. In addition, the path test found that non-state shareholder governance affects the dynamic adjustment of capital structure by reducing opportunism behavior of management rather than by financing constraints.

What triggers public-private partnership (PPP) renegotiations in the United States?

Abstract: Public-private partnership (PPP) renegotiations and their outcomes have been studied extensively in Latin America and Europe but not in the United States. Therefore, this study evaluates factors triggering U.S. PPP renegotiations by examining six highway PPPs located in California (2), Indiana (1), and Virginia (3). The findings suggest exogenous macroeconomic shocks, project and political complexity, and institutional inexperience are the most compelling triggers behind U.S. PPP renegotiations. These findings also highlight America’s distinct political and institutional environment – i.e. favourable to buy-outs as well as debt restructuring via bankruptcy – as a possible explanation for the absence of opportunism among U.S. PPP renegotiations.

Corporate Environmental Information Disclosure and Earnings Management in China: Ethical Behaviour or Opportunism Motivation?

Abstract: China has entered a new stage of high-quality economic development, which puts forward in-depth requirements for environmental protection. Companies in heavily polluting industries are required to disclose environmental information. Fulfilling environmental responsibilities and disclosing this information may be either a responsible moral act or an opportunistic act. Taking listed companies in China’s heavily polluting industries from 2009 to 2020 as a sample, this study examines the economic consequences of enterprise environmental information disclosure (EID) from the earnings management (EM) perspective, as an external representation of ‘ethical behaviour’ and ‘opportunism motivations’ of EID and considers the effects of internal management competency and operating environment volatility. Findings include: (1) EID can restrain EM and support the ‘ethical behaviour’ motivation of EID. (2) Compared with the ‘soft disclosure’ of environmental information, the effect of ‘hard disclosure’ on EM is more obvious. (3) Greater management competency can strengthen the EM governance role of EID, while greater environmental uncertainty weakens this mechanism. (4) EID in enterprises in a mature period, state-owned, western regions, or low public environmental concern areas show an inhibitory effect on EM. Furthermore, its moralistic tendencies are more obvious compared with enterprises in growth or recession periods, non-state-owned, eastern regions, and those with high public environmental concerns.

The “Double-Edged Sword” Effect of Personal Relationships between Boundary Personnel on Enterprise Opportunistic Behavior in Cooperative Innovation

Abstract: In collaborative innovation, personal relationships between boundary personnel of knowledge-intensive business service (KIBS) enterprises and organizational customers have a “double-edged sword” effect on inter-organizational relations. This study adopts the empirical research method based on KIBS enterprises’ cooperative innovation projects with organizational customers in China. Based on the theory of the inter-organizational relationship, this study explores the influence of personal relationships between employees at the boundary of enterprises on organizational customers’ opportunistic behavior. It analyzes the mediating effect of relationship governance and contract governance. The results show that personal relationships between boundary personnel will improve the probability of corporate customer opportunism. The relationship between governance and contract governance for enterprises can effectively restrain the opportunistic behavior of organizational customers. Further, the personal relationships between boundary personnel will enhance the relationship norms and inhibit the opportunistic behavior of organizational customers, and relationship governance plays a partial intermediary role in this. The personal relationships between employees at an enterprise’s boundary will relax the contract’s supervision and encourage corporate customer opportunism. Contract governance plays a partial intermediary role in this.

When does control curb opportunistic behaviour: evidence from the construction industry

Abstract: The subcontracting organizational arrangement has received limited attention in designing the control mechanism. This study has explored how managerial controls affect opportunistic behaviour and developed a contingency framework to investigate the moderating effect of subcontracting dispersion. By using survey data from 323 general contractors in the Chinese construction industry, this study reveals that both outcome control and clan control curb the occurrence of subcontractors’ opportunistic behaviours while behaviour control scarcely helps. Besides, subcontractor dispersion distinctively moderates these relationships. A high level of subcontractor dispersion amplifies the opportunism-curbing effect of outcome control, but attenuates that of clan control, which leads to more opportunistic behaviours. Only at a lower level of subcontractor dispersion will behaviour control mitigate subcontractors’ opportunistic behaviours. Our configurational analyses reveal the substitute and complementary relationship between different control modes with different levels of subcontracting dispersion. This study contributes to the literature on governing opportunism and managerial control. The findings guide managers of the general contractor to exploit appropriate managerial controls to curb opportunistic behaviours across different organizational designs.

The governance of rent‐seeking behavior in carbon asset pledge financing: An evolutionary game perspective

Abstract: As an emerging financing model in the carbon financial market, carbon asset pledge financing (CAPF) has received extensive attention from governments and firms with the advance of low-carbon economy. Since enterprises, banks, third-party carbon asset evaluation agencies (TCAs), governments, etc, are involved in the operation of CAPF, driven by information asymmetry and the interaction among different stakeholders, rent-seeking behavior is easy to occur in CAPF. This paper develops an evolutionary game model to investigate the rent-seeking behavior in CAPF among different stakeholders. In addition, the risk-sharing and penalty mechanisms are also taken into account. Subsequently, we examine the effect of relevant parameters on the dynamic evolution strategy of all parties in CAPF rent-seeking through numerical examples. The results show that the governance of rent-seeking behavior in CAPF needs the cooperation of different participating entities, the improvement of carbon financial market can reduce the occurrence of rent-seeking behavior in CAPF. Compared with firms, TCAs are more susceptible to opportunism. Additionally, both the risk-sharing mechanism and the penalty mechanism can effectively reduce the occurrence of rent-seeking behavior. This paper contributes to the management of CAPF, and managerial insights for the governance of rent-seeking behavior in CAPF are also provided.

Identifying the antecedents of opportunism in agri‐food cooperatives: a comparative analysis between first‐ and second‐tier cooperatives

Abstract: Agri-food cooperatives allow farmers to improve their competitiveness and bargaining power. However, the specificities of their organizational form, in which owners are decision makers, suppliers, and clients, open the door to conflicts of interest. Members’ opportunism comes in the aftermath of this and adversely affects cooperatives’ performance. Hence, knowing the antecedents of these undesirable opportunistic behaviors is an important management concern. This study analyzes the factors that promote cooperative members opportunism by exploring the differences between memberships of first-tier cooperatives and second-tier cooperatives. To this end, an ordinary least squares linear regression model with interaction terms was estimated. The results show that in the case of first-tier cooperatives, environmental uncertainty, members’ heterogeneity, and the cooperative's market orientation increase members’ opportunism, while members’ dependence on the cooperative, long-term orientation of the relationship, and members’ market orientation reduce it. For second-tier cooperatives, our results reveal that cooperative market orientation increases members’ opportunism, while members’ market orientation reduces it. Moreover, we find that members’ dependence on cooperatives, long-term orientation, and environmental uncertainty have different effects on opportunism in each type of membership.

Firm investment and financial autonomy: A transaction cost economics and firm lifecycle approach

Abstract: This study examines how firm's investments relate to financial autonomy across different stages of lifecycle. With 1367 Chinese listed companies from 1990 to 2018, the results indicate that firms with high (low) financial autonomy tend to over-invest (under-invest). Accordingly, financially autonomous firms have lower valuation. While corporate governance mitigates both over- and under-investment over time in China, such an effect becomes statistically insignificant after considering different magnitudes of financial autonomy. The Chinese policy makers should consider designing more solid corporate governance to control the opportunism of managers who are more financially independent.

Strategic Opportunism: What Works in Africa: Twelve Fundamentals for Conservation Success

Abstract: This is open access book provides a synthesis of six projects, across ten countries, including widely varying case studies.

Enemies to frenemies: coopetition between online and offline retailers amidst crises

Abstract: PurposeThis study explores coopetition opportunities between e-tailers and brick-and-mortar (BM) retailers and provides a conceptual framework. These opportunities may be triggered by events such as social distancing causing crises (SDCC).Design/methodology/approachA grounded theory based approach was used wherein 119 news articles and 48 academic papers are the main sources of data to analyse the real-world responses. A typical qualitative methodology, including open and axial coding, was used. To further analyse the insights obtained, six in-depth interviews were conducted.FindingsNon-customer-interfacing-based coopetition, such as small BM stores serving as e-marketplace sellers and customer-interfacing-based coopetition, such as large BM stores serving as showrooms, are some potential coopetition opportunities.Research limitations/implicationsThe majority of the available studies dwell more on offline retailers developing online channels. This study investigates the opposite situation and conceptualises a new understanding of how e-tailers and BM retailers can work together more harmoniously. This study can be used as a springboard by academicians for future research on a larger scale. Five research propositions are offered that can guide hypothesis generation. Development of case studies and consulting services for the industry are the other research opportunities.Practical implicationsSocial distancing as a measure may vanish from the world with time; however, social distancing's implications are still pertinent given that new diseases, including new variants of pandemic potential, could continue to emerge. The study puts forward propositions based on theoretical dimensions and second-order themes derived from first-order categories. These propositions are about the drivers of coopetition and the opportunities with both large and small BM stores that e-tailers can leverage during a crisis, given that launching e-tailers' own BM stores demands large investments. This study has social and economic implications too.Originality/valueThis study investigates coopetition, an important trend but lacking adequate research. Whilst only few studies examine coopetition from a crises' perspective, this study investigates develops a new understanding of coopetition opportunities between e-tailers and BM retailers. This study adds to the scarce literature how such opportunities may be triggered by events such as SDCC.

Police Extortion and Drug Dealers’ Negotiation Strategies: Exploring the Accounts of Street-Level Dealers in Nigeria

Abstract: This study explores police extortion and the negotiation strategies of dealers in street drug markets. Analysis of 31 in-depth interviews with male retail drug dealers in Uyo, Nigeria, framed by the theoretical concept of habitus, revealed how bribery and collusion with corrupt police officers offered protection from raids and arrests. Connivance with police was a double-edged sword; it also fostered exploitation of dealers by police officers. Police extortion, motivated by greed and opportunism, undermined profit from drug trade. Dealers negotiated police extortion by walking-away from exploitative collusions and forming new ones, and temporarily desisting from selling drugs to reduce the risk of arrest by vindictive police officers. I argue that street market policing, driven by greed and self-interest, encouraged bribery, extortion, and criminal alliances that effectively redirected policing from the goals of crime control and public order to personal enrichment of police officers. On the other hand, the negotiation of extortion through street habitus suggests that drug dealers are not passive victims of police predation. Improved oversight over patrolling officers and providing viable alternative livelihoods for dealers are suggested as measures for addressing police corruption and retail drug trade.

Armed group opportunism in the face of recent crises: COVID-19 and climate change

Abstract: Terrorist and other types of armed groups often exploit natural and human-made disasters and emergencies to advance their causes. This paper studies how some armed groups have responded to two recent global emergencies—climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines the messaging and actions of the Boko Haram in Nigeria and Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) dissident groups in Colombia in response to COVID and climatic shifts. The paper uses assessment methodology to look into unique survey evidence from each country in order to determine the public impact of armed group decision-making and responses to these emergencies. It also considers the potential policy implications of the findings presented herein.

ESG and Corporate Performance: A Review

Abstract: ESG is becoming increasingly important topic in corporate finance literature. In addition to developed countries, emerging market economies have also increased their attention on ESG in recent years. The number of papers on ESG published by finance and accounting journals skyrocketed. The effect of ESG on corporate performance is uncertain. This paper provides implications for investors, ESG can build up reputation, transmit positive signals, and investors react positively to socially responsible firms, increasing corporate performance. On the other hand, according to the agency theory, more ESG involvements may reflect managerial opportunism, which negatively affects corporate innovation. This paper aims to provide a synthetic and evaluation monograph of literature that examines the relationship between ESG and corporate performance.

Evaluation of Opportunists’ Attitude, Lack of Humility, Insubordination, and their Megalomaniacal Inclinations as an Obstruction for Development and violation of Manners and Decency

Abstract: There are expressions saying, ‘It is neither the hero nor the personality, but the people who are the moving force of history, and ‘Trust and respect are the obverse sides of the same coin’. What do we understand by these expressions? The primary question raised in this study is: Why should I trust a person I do not know? There are some subordinates who are aware that opportunism is a self-serving, self-centred approach to situations that disregards how others feel, but they deliberately violate manners and decency. The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitude of opportunists and what influences them to violate manners and decency. The primary sources for data collection include oral interviews that were conducted through face-to-face interaction. The interviews were aimed at eliciting first-hand information on the knowledge of the subject matter. The secondary sources included among others, materials such as Journal articles, books and theses, and of course personal experience. The results have shown that opportunists are also unprofessional, exploitative, unprincipled and take unfair advantage of opportunities for selfish ends. It was concluded that in any work environment, there are employees who will pounce on any available opportunity for personal gain, whether or not it hurts the business, organization, project, leader/founder, or co-workers.

Does relationship marketing have a dark side A theoretical perspective

Abstract: Few studies have identified that despite the benefits of adopting a relationship marketing strategy, there could be a dark side that reveals itself between business firms because of implementing a relationship marketing strategy. Past literature remains scrappy on this aspect. The other perspective tells that over time, a relationship may become boring. Apart from this time factor, another factor namely, opportunism, also played a significant role in manifesting the dark side variables. The present paper provides a conceptual framework on the variables of relationship marketing (trust and commitment) and the identified dark side of relationship marketing (such as vulnerability, complacency and suspicion). The authors argue that if at any point a partner has the opportunity to engage in opportunism, there appears a negative side of the relationship which overcomes the positive impact of the relationship marketing strategy, and most favourable factors like trust, slowly converts into the identified dark side variables.

Firm performance as a mediator of the relationship between CEO narcissism and positive rhetorical tone

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how chief executive officers’ (CEOs) narcissism impacts firm performance and how this, in turn, affects a CEO’s positive rhetorical tone. Design/methodology/approach The narcissism score is measured by using an analytical composite score for each CEO based on eight factors. The paper uses textual analysis on a sample of 848 CEO letters of US firms over the period 2010–2019. WarpPLS software, version 7.0 was used to conduct structural equation modeling through the partial least squares because a non-linear algorithm exists between CEO narcissism, firm performance and positive tone, and the values of path coefficients moved from non-significant to significant. Findings The results suggest that performance partially mediates the relationship between CEO narcissism and positive tone. This indicates that not all the positivity expressed by narcissistic CEOs is opportunism; some of it is indeed driven by better performance. The reported findings indicate that firm performance explains one-quarter of a CEO’s positive words, whereas some three-quarters of the positivity is driven by a narcissistic CEO (i.e. opportunism). A comparison of letters signed by highly narcissistic and less narcissistic leaders reveals that among those letters signed by highly narcissistic leaders, firm performance plays a significant mediating role between narcissistic tendencies and positive tone. However, among those with less narcissistic score, there is no evidence that performance mediates the tone and narcissism. Interestingly, both highly narcissistic and less narcissistic CEOs use positive words and optimistic expressions even when their firms perform poorly or negatively. Research limitations/implications The results help shareholders be aware that CEOs may opportunistically use their personal characteristics and language to manipulate them. Data limitations about women CEOs were one of the reasons behind the small proportion of women CEOs in this study, making it low in generalizability. Originality value A comprehensive review showed that none of previous studies examined the more ambiguous relationship between a CEO’s narcissist tendency, the firm’s performance, and CEO rhetorical tone. As one set of studies focused on Narcissism → Performance, and the other one on Performance → Tone, this current study completes the picture with Narcissism → Performance → Tone.