Aim. In close cooperation with an international automotive supplier we developed the “C2” business simulation game in order to meet real work practice needs. Based on the example of a site-location decision and the setup of a new factory in China, the participants of the game experienced the challenges of an interdisciplinary project team as well as project management in complex and rapidly changing situations. During the game we used the creative learning method LEGO® Serious Play®,1 which helps to express different understandings through hands-on modelling. The aim of the game is to acquire and improve both technical project management knowledge and soft skills of the participants. Method. In total, 47 students participated in one of six two-day game sessions. They reported self-perceptions about their skill level through pre- and postgame questionnaires. Further data were collected during the simulation game based on observations, lessons learned reflections of the participants and evaluation questionnaires. Results. Results from our pre- and post-game self-assessment questionnaires show that the “C2” business simulation game improves not only conceptual knowledge about project management but also team working and the participants’ other soft skills. Results indicate that the students’ reactions to the simulation game were positive, and students felt that the LEGO Serious Play method helped them to better cope with challenges of teamwork, influences of stakeholders, risk factors and unpredictable project situations. Conclusion. These results suggest that our business simulation game has the potential to be an effective learning and training tool to provide students with relevant skills necessary for project managers. By giving students the opportunity to act in an authentic scenario based on a real project case, we can support their action-oriented as well as their trial-and-error learning, or in short their learning through experience.

Previous research has investigated the relationship between organizational tenure and performance by focusing primarily on organizational tenure of the individual employee. We propose that this approach is limited because organizational tenure should be conceptualized as relating to multiple entities including teams and their leaders. As predicted, analysis of two objective performance indicators of 1,753 employees working with 250 leaders of natural work teams in a financial services company revealed that, beyond employee organizational tenure, team leader organizational tenure and team organizational tenure diversity had positive incremental effects on employee performance. Moreover, the positive impact of employee organizational tenure was less pronounced in teams with high rather than low tenure diversity. Our findings suggest that organizations’ capacity to promote performance will be limited if they focus on organizational tenure of an individual, while neglecting the ways in which performance is shaped by organizational tenure related to multiple entities within a team.

Die Zunahme von Meldungen über Zwischenfälle in Kliniken und deren Ursachen werden in Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft diskutiert. Aus der Literatur lässt sich ableiten, dass die Mensch-Maschine-Schnittstelle Einfluss auf die Fehlerentstehung hat. Daher wird eine qualitative, standardisierte Befragung bei Anwendern von Medizingeräten durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung zeigen, dass anthropometrische Gestaltungsregeln bisher wenig beachtet werden und dass ergonomische Vorgaben bei der Gestaltung von Menüstrukturen nach wie vor Verzögerungen im klinischen Arbeitsfluss hervorrufen, worunter die Effizienz und besonders die Zufriedenheit der Mitarbeiter leidet.

Die vorliegende Untersuchung behandelt die Fragestellung, welche grundlegenden Konzepte die Wahrnehmung von gesellschaftlicher Verantwortungsübernahme von Unternehmen (Corporate Social Responsibility) und deren Kommunikation beeinflussen. Am Beispiel der Energiebranche sowie einem qualitativen Forschungsansatz folgend, wurden mittels Experteninterviews, Inhalts- und Frameanalysen und Leitfadeninterviews die drei Konzepte ‚CSR als Freiwilligkeit’, ‚CSR als Verpflichtung’ und ‚CSR als Zweckorientierung’ identifiziert und deren Beziehungen untereinander herausgearbeitet. Durch die entsprechenden Zuschreibungen der drei Konzepte entstehen sowohl positive als auch negative Beziehungspfade, wobei erstere die ethische (Selbst-)Verpflichtung und die sinnstiftende Zweckorientierung hervorheben, während letztere den öffentlichen Druck auf Unternehmen und eine wahrgenommene Instrumentalisierung kommunikativer Maßnahmen thematisieren. Das daraus resultierende Wahrnehmungsmodell erklärt die Widersprüchlichkeiten und Gemeinsamkeiten der Konzepte und stellt einen Erklärungsansatz für die grundlegende Skepsis gegenüber CSR-Aktivitäten und insbesondere den entsprechenden Kommunikationskampagnen vor. / The presented analysis deals with the perception of strategic CSR-activities and CSR-communication campaigns. Using a qualitative approach and exploring the field of the energy sector in Germany, data was gathered from expert interviews (communication officers & CSR-experts), content and frame analysis (media resonance, blogosphere, online chats, website analysis) and guided interviews. Conclusively, three concepts were identified: CSR as a voluntary act (perceived self-commitment based on corporate ethics), CSR as an obligation (engagement based on public pressure) and CSR as an instrument (sense-making engagement, instrumentalization for reputational goals). The compiled model illustrates linkages and relationships between these concepts and offers an explanatory approach for the fundamental skepticism towards strategic CSR-activities and related communication campaigns.

After breaking through the glass ceiling, women often obtain precarious or risky leadership positions in crisis-ridden organizations (the glass cliff; Ryan & Haslam, 2005). Due to women’s minority status, their appointment in a crisis can signal important changes to organizational stakeholders indicating the use of new strategies for overcoming the crisis (signaling theory; Spence, 1973). Our study examines whether the media visibility of organizations moderates these signaling effects in ways that either strengthen or weaken glass cliffs. We augmented the archival dataset used by Haslam et al. (2010) in which the glass cliff phenomenon was discovered by including data on the media coverage that the Financial Times Stock Exchange index 100 companies received between 2001 and 2005. Our analysis shows that glass cliffs were more pronounced in companies with low media visibility. This suggests that the media visibility of organizations can contribute to increased accountability regarding their personnel decisions in ways that expose women leaders to less discrimination. / Nachdem sie die gläserne Decke durchbrechen, erreichen Frauen oft unsichere und riskante Führungspositionen in krisengeschüttelten Organisationen (gläserne Klippe oder Glass Cliffs; Ryan & Haslam, 2005). Nach der Signaltheorie (Signaling Theory; Spence, 1973) kann die Ernennung von Frauen in Krisenzeiten aufgrund ihrer Seltenheit Stakeholdern grundlegende Veränderungen bezüglich kritischer Probleme ankündigen. Wir untersuchen die Möglickeit, dass die mediale Sichtbarkeit von Organisationen Glass Cliffs moderiert – also verstärkt oder abschwächt. Können medial sichtbare Unternehmen wirksamere Signale senden oder stehen sie stärker unter Beobachtung? Hierfür wurde der Archivdatensatz von Haslam et al. (2010) um die Medienberichterstattung erweitert, die FTSE100-Unternehmen zwischen den Jahren 2001 und 2005 erhielten. Unsere Analyse zeigt, dass Glass Cliffs bei Unternehmen mit geringer medialer Sichtbarkeit stärker ausgeprägt waren. Dieser Befund zeigt, dass die medialer Sichtbarkeit von Organisationen zu einer höheren Verantwortlichkeit bei Personalentscheidungen beitragen kann, so dass weibliche Führungskräfte weniger diskriminiert werden.

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to provide evidence on the extent and the consequences of the provision of non-audit services (NAS) by statutory auditors to German family firms. Design/methodology/approach – The study analyzes hand collected fee data of 368 listed and private family firms in Germany. It employs univariate tests, ordinary least squares and two-stage least squares regressions to investigate potential threats to perceived auditor independence and knowledge spillovers between jointly provided NAS and audit services. Findings – Incumbent auditors are shown to be a significant source of various types of NAS to family firms. There is weak evidence on threats to perceived auditor independence and support for reciprocal knowledge spillovers between the services. While listed and private family firms do not differ in regard to the proportion of NAS fees, comparative findings suggest that key threats and benefits of jointly provided services are more prevalent among private than among listed family firms. Research limitations/implications – The study suffers from limited data availability and is restricted to the initial year of mandatory audit fee disclosure of private firms in Germany. Particularities of family firms and the German setting, as well as differential results for listed and private family firms, suggest fruitful avenues for future research. Practical implications – The study addresses the current issues in audit regulation. Regulatory bodies should consider that key threats and benefits of auditor-provided NAS decrease with stronger exogenous restrictions. Attempts to restrict jointly provided services in the EU suggest family firms to reconsider their reliance on auditors as a trusted source of NAS. Originality/value – This study is the first to provide evidence on the extent and consequences of auditor-provided NAS in family firms based on fee disclosure. It is also among the few studies that investigate private firms in a code law country and complements prior evidence from Germany that is restricted to listed firms. More generally, it contributes to limited evidence at the intersection of audit and family business research.

Der Beitrag prüft den Stand der de facto-Konvergenz von IFRS und US-GAAP anhand der Überleitungsrechnungen gemäß Form 20-F von 114 europäischen IFRS-Bilanzierern. Die Analyse von 1.928 Einzelposten verdeutlicht die Heterogenität und das oft wesentliche Ausmaß der Differenzen zwischen den Ergebnis- und Eigenkapitalgrößen nach IFRS und nach US-GAAP. Diese gründen vorrangig auf hohen Teildifferenzen aus der Bilanzierung von Unternehmenszusammenschlüssen, immateriellen Vermögenswerten und Pensionen. Neben der Branchenzugehörigkeit beeinflussen die Erstanwendung von IFRS und die Rechnungslegungstradition die ausgewiesenen Differenzen. Die Ergebnisse offenbaren einen bislang geringen Stand der de facto-Konvergenz und deuten auf Umstellungseffekte sowie international inkonsistente Anwendung der Standards hin. Insbesondere implizieren die parallelen Abschlussgrößen eine frühere Gewinnvereinnahmung nach US-GAAP und insoweit eine vorsichtigere Bilanzierung nach IFRS, die in common law-Staaten starker ausgeprägt ist als in code law-Staaten. Neben der Branchenzugehörigkeit beeinflussen die Erstanwendung von IFRS und die Rechnungslegungstradition die ausgewiesenen Differenzen. Die Ergebnisse offenbaren einen bislang geringen Stand der de facto-Konvergenz und deuten auf Umstellungseffekte sowie international inkonsistente Anwendung der Standards hin. Insbesondere implizieren die parallelen Abschlussgrößen eine frühere Gewinnvereinnahmung nach US-GAAP und insoweit eine vorsichtigere Bilanzierung nach IFRS, die in common law-Staaten stärker ausgeprägt ist als in code law-Staaten. / This paper examines the level of de facto convergence of IFRSs and U.S. GAAP based on Form 20-F reconciliations of 114 EU companies. Our analysis of 1.928 reconciling items illustrates that de facto differences between IFRSs and U.S. GAAP are heterogeneous and often material in both net income and shareholder’s equity. Particularly, adjustments for business combinations, intangibles and pensions are predominant. We find significant differences between numerical adjustments (1) of first-time adopters and non-first-time adopters of IFRSs, (2) of companies in the financial and non-financial sector, and (3) of companies domiciled in common law and code law countries with each former group tending to larger adjustments. This implies that adoption effects and institutional factors impact the amount of adjustments. Our overall results indicate a poor level of de facto convergence achieved to date and an inconsistent application of accounting standards. Particularly, results imply earlier profit recognition under U.S. GAAP and more conservative accounting under IFRSs, which are more prevalent in common law countries than in code law countries. Particularly, results imply earlier profit recognition under U.S. GAAP and more conservative accounting under IFRSs, which are more prevalent in common law countries than in code law countries.

In the literature, the impact of multinationality on the valuation of multinational companies is heavily debated. To understand this impact on valuation, we need to clarify whether and how multinationality affects systematic risk. For this purpose, we analyze the state of research concerning the impact of corporate multinationality on systematic risk, conducting a systematic literature review of 35 studies and a univariate meta-analysis based on 20 studies. We test the predictions of the upstream–downstream hypothesis and the increasing capital market integration hypothesis on the basis of a meta-regression analysis of 17 studies. Our results provide no empirical support for the upstream–downstream hypothesis. However, they corroborate the capital market integration hypothesis in a more radical manner than expected: whereas multinationality seemed to have a risk-reducing effect until the beginning of the 1990s, since then its impact appears to have shifted. We find a risk-increasing effect for multinationality from 1990 on. Our results have important implications for academic research and managerial practice.

The crew scheduling problem with attendance rates is highly relevant for regional passenger rail transport in Germany. Its major characteristic is that only a certain percentage of trains have to be covered by crew members or conductors, causing a significant increase in complexity. Despite being commonly found in regional transport networks, discussions regarding this issue remain relatively rare in the literature. We propose a novel hybrid column generation approach for a real-world problem in railway passenger transport. To the best of our knowledge, several realistic requirements that are necessary for successful application of generated schedules in practice have been integrated for the first time in this study. A mixed integer programming model is used to solve the master problem, whereas a genetic algorithm is applied for the pricing problem. Several improvement strategies are applied to accelerate the solution process; these strategies are analyzed in detail and are exemplified. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is proven by a comprehensive computational study using real-world instances, which are made publicly available. Further we provide real optimality gaps on average less than 10 % based on lower bounds generated by solving an arc flow formulation. The developed approach is successfully used in practice by DB Regio AG.

Purpose This paper aims to propose and apply a novel risk-based approach to explore whether socio-political theories explain the level of corporate environmental disclosures given inconclusive evidence on the relation between environmental disclosure and environmental performance. Design/methodology/approach Based on content analysis of corporate risk reporting, the paper develops measures of environmental risk to proxy for a firm’s exposure to public pressure in regard to environmental concerns that should be positively associated with the level of corporate environmental disclosures according to socio-political theories. Multiple regressions are used to test the predictions of socio-political theories for US Standards and Poor’s 500 constituents from polluting sectors. Findings The level of environmental disclosures is found to be positively associated with a firm’s environmental risk while unrelated to its environmental performance. The findings suggest that firms tend to provide higher levels of environmental disclosures in response to greater exposure to public pressure as depicted by broad environmental indicators. The results are robust to alternative measures of environmental disclosures, environmental risk and environmental performance, alternative specifications of the economic model and additional sensitivity checks. Research limitations/implications This study is limited to US firms in polluting sectors. The risk-based approach proposed may not be appropriate to cover sectors where corporate risk reporting is less likely to address environmental risk, but it could potentially be adopted in other countries with advanced risk reporting regulation or practice. Practical implications Findings are important to understand a firm’s incentives to disclose environmental information. Cross-sectional differences found in environmental disclosures, risk and performance, highlight the importance of considering industry affiliation when analyzing environmental data. Originality/value This paper is the first to use firm-level environmental risk variables to explain the level of corporate environmental disclosures. The risk-based approach taken suggests opportunities for research at the multi-country level and in countries where corporate environmental performance data are not publicly available.