Work-family balance practices (WFBPs) in the workplace have caused growing interest amongst employees and employers in developing countries like Malaysia. Previous research has shown that the application of work-family balance interface (e.g. work-family integration) in the workplace has an impact on the role of manager, particularly at the micro level analysis. The study has four objectives, which are: (1) To explore how managers and executives in the O& G sector perceive the notion of WFBPs; (2) To identify the type of WFBPs introduced in the Malaysian O&G companies; (3) To compare the WFBPs in both government-owned and privatelyowned O&G companies; and (4) To evaluate the role of a manager in implementing WFBPs in O&G companies. A qualitative method was employed in this study by using a face-to-face, semi-structured interview approach. The interview approach was used to explore the concept and dimensions of the understanding of WFBPs, as this is the appropriate approach to gain a viewpoint from an individual perspective. The empirical result of the investigation has recognised the significant themes of the implementation of WFBPs on the O&G employees' work-life balance. Firstly, it provided the WFBPs' notions of the integration, separation and integration-separation concept between work and family lives to the O&G workforces. Secondly, the study identified and examined the utility of the WFBPs that enables the comparison of formal and informal WFBPs for both government-owned and privately-owned O&G companies. Thirdly, the study evaluated the role of the manager in undertaking the WFBPs and factors that motivate the O&G workforces in the workplace. This study also revealed the impact on the individual and the organisation from the implementation of WFBPs. Hence, the study showed the interconnected manager roles in achieving the work-life balance whilst working with the O&G industry.

[pt] Um argumento comum contra as privatizações de bancos oficiais é que elas elevam o spread bancário, por reduzirem a pressão competitiva sobre bancos privados. Este artigo demonstra, porém, que bancos oficiais podem inibir a competição entre bancos privados, tornando ambíguo o impacto das privatizações sobre o spread. Para avaliar esta ambigüidade, determinamos o impacto das 20 privatizações e liquidações de bancos oficiais, ocorridas entre 1996 e 2001, sobre preços de ações negociadas na BOVESPA. Identificamos que não houve perda de valor para as empresas mais endividadas e que, apesar das privatizações terem aumentado o valor de mercado de um dos maiores bancos privados brasileiro (Banco Real), os preços de outros bancos privados caíram. Esta evidência favorece à hipótese de que os bancos oficiais inibiam a competição entre os bancos privados. / [en] A common argument against privatizations of state-owned banks is that it leads to larger interest rates, through the riddance of competitive pressure over private banks. This paper demonstrates that state- owned banks also can prevent a high competition between private-owned banks. The impact of privatizations over oligopolistic credit markets is, therefore, an empirical question. In order to answer this question, we studied the 20 Brazilian banks privatizations during the second half of 90`s using stock returns. We could not identify negative changes in value for the most leveraged public firms. Furthermore, while only one large Brazilian private bank (Banco Real) benefited from the privatizations, other private banks lost market value. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that privatizations lower spreads by fostering competition in the credit markets.

[pt] Esta tese de doutorado está dividida em três ensaios que têm como característica comum a análise de questões empíricas sobre o sistema bancário brasileiro. No primeiro ensaio, a estrutura concorrencial do mercado bancário brasileiro é estudada com o objetivo de avaliar se bancos públicos têm maior ou menor efeito competitivo vis-à-vis bancos privados. Para isso, utiliza-se metodologia de Bresnahan e Reiss (1991) para se estudar competição em mercados locais concentrados. Encontra-se robusta evidência empírica de que bancos públicos têm menores efeitos competitivos do que os bancos privados. No segundo ensaio, estuda-se o efeito da disseminação de uma nova modalidade de crédito no Brasil, o crédito consignado. Nesse tipo de crédito há uma colateralização total através da dedução do pagamento do empréstimo diretamente do salário do devedor. Para conseguirmos medir adequadamente o efeito da introdução da nova modalidade, utilizamos um outro tipo de modalidade de crédito, crédito para a aquisição de veículos, como grupo de controle. Os resultados mostram uma forte queda da taxa de juros e um expressivo aumento do volume de crédito, o que indica que a introdução do crédito consignado teve forte efeito sobre o mercado de crédito no Brasil. No terceiro ensaio, estuda-se a relação entre política monetária e o mercado de crédito bancário. A literatura internacional, tanto empírica como teórica, mostra que o mercado de crédito poderia ter importante papel como amplificador de choques de política monetária. Nesse estudo, o foco será o mercado de crédito bancário e o que a literatura convencionou chamar de canal de crédito bancário. Utilizando uma nova estratégia de identificação, baseada em um estudo de evento em torno da reunião do comitê de política monetária quando decidindo sobre a taxa básica de juros a vigorar na economia, mostra-se que não há evidência do canal de crédito bancário no Brasil. Apesar de o efeito direto da taxa básica de juros sobre o volume e a taxa de juros do crédito ter sido significativo, não se pode relacioná-lo ao canal de crédito bancário, uma vez que bancos menores e/ou menos líquidos não reagem mais a choques de política monetária do que os bancos maiores e/ou mais líquidos. / [en] This PhD thesis is divided in three essays on empirical microeconomics of banking. The first essay evaluates the competitive impact of public banks vis-à-vis private ones. A methodology based on Bresnahan and Reiss (1991) is used to access competition in local concentrated markets. We find robust evidence that, relative to private banks, state- owned banks are anti-competitive. In the second essay the introduction of a new type of credit, the payroll loans, is analyzed. In this type of credit there is a complete collateralization of the debt through the direct withdrawal of the loan payment from the debtor`s salary. In order to properly measure this effect we used another type of credit, automobile loans, as control group. Results show a statistical and economic significant reduction of interest rate and increase of credit volume, which show that the creation of payroll loans had strong effect on the Brazilian credit market. In the third chapter I study the relation between monetary policy and banking credit market. The international literature, both theoretical and empirical, suggests that credit markets could have important role in the amplification of monetary policy shocks. In this essay I focus on the banking credit market and what literature calls banking lending channel. Using a new identification strategy, based on an event study around monetary policy committee reunion setting the basic interest rate target, I find no evidence of banking lending channel in Brazil. Despite the significant direct effect of basic interest rate on credit interest rate and volume, there is no link between this effect and the banking lending channel, since smaller and/or less liquid banks do not react more to the monetary policy shocks than bigger and/or more liquid banks.

This thesis investigates manufacturer-distributor power relationship in the Chinese Iron and Steel Industry. The main objectives of this study are to identify, describe and investigate the power relationships in Chinese Iron and Steel Industry; to understand the concept of power from the perspective of distributors and their relationship with State-Owned Enterprises and Private-Owned Enterprises in this industry; and to explore the possibility of developing an extended research power-relationship framework by investigating the power construct and potentially related and relevant factors in the Chinese market that may impact predicted outcomes such as positive conflict resolution attitude and levels of conflict. Two quantitative pilot studies were conducted, consisting of 14 surveys with semi-structured questions each, which were instrumental in the design of an extended power relationship model by incorporating the factors such as the level of trust, frequency of communication and level of guanxi that drive positive conflict resolution attitude into the traditional power model that had not been combined in a single framework before. Subsequently, the main study was carried out comprising 148 questionnaires completed by distributor firm managers. These represent the views of 74 respondents, who responded for both state-owned enterprises and private-owned enterprises in the Chinese Iron and Steel Industry The sample size is 74 respondents including 14 respondents that were also respondents for the pilot studies. This study generated four main findings. 1) a State-Owned Enterprises tend to use more non-coercive power than Private-Owned Enterprises, and have a stronger negative effect than Private-Owned Enterprises; 2) although Private-Owned Enterprises were rated higher than State-Owned Enterprises in the level of trust, and have a stronger positive effect when explaining the observed relationship between the level of trust and positive conflict resolution attitude, the difference is really minimal; 3) Private-Owned Enterprises were rated higher than State-Owned Enterprises in the frequency of communication, and have a stronger positive effect than State-Owned Enterprises in the explanation of the relationship between frequency of communication and positive conflict resolution attitude. 4) Private-Owned Enterprises were rated higher than State-Owned Enterprises in the level of guanxi, and have stronger positive effect than State-Owned Enterprises in the explanation of the relationship between level of guanxi and positive conflict resolution attitude. These findings contribute to fill gaps in the literature with regard to power relationships in distribution channels. This thesis extends the current boundary of knowledge through the formulation of an extended framework that integrates conflict resolution constructs into a typical/traditional power model. This extended framework comprises new constructs such as level of trust, frequency of communication and level of guanxi and hypothesises their impact on conflict resolution attitude and level of conflict in the Chinese distribution channel. New knowledge is created by investigating differences regarding the use of power by SOEs and POEs considered from the distributor perspective in the Chinese context. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed in detail.

Many of the countries all over the world, with different experiences, own state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Even though these enterprises are useful socioeconomic policy instruments, evidence from most of these countries shows that these enterprises do not fulfil their mandates, especially when wholly owned, and in developing and corrupt countries. As a result, owning SOEs has become a trend rather than a means to an end. Several models, from privatisation, then back to renationalisation, have been attempted in mitigating the numerous problems of these enterprises. These models did not mitigate the problems of SOEs as they were, in summary, mere models backed by powerful advocates and favoured by the turn of socio-political and economic cycles at that time. However, irrespective of the numerous problems of SOEs, these enterprises can still be useful socioeconomic policy instruments now, as in the past. Using multiphase exploratory mixed methods, this thesis explores ways of mitigating the problems of SOEs by developing a best practice structural corporate governance model that takes into account various aspects of corporate governance of SOEs. In this context, the empirical part of this study was conducted in three phases. The first phase analyses the contents of relevant enterprises’ documents. The second phase analyses survey responses from purposively selected expert respondents from sample SOEs. The third phase analyses interviews from purposively selected expert participants from sample SOEs. Thus, this thesis determined the problems of SOEs, detailed the problem implications, identified contingent areas of the models considered vis a vis problems explored, extended the role of government, developed a conceptual framework, established useful models for organising and owning SOEs as a way of mitigating the identified problems, analysed the thesis statement and thesis propositions and developed a structural corporate governance model for SOEs. The study found that the holding company model, both wholly and partly owned, appears to be better in mitigating corporate governance problems of SOEs, compared with the traditional wholly and partly owned models, with the partly owned model of the holding company model a better model compared with the other models. Thus, this thesis harnesses the stages detailed above into contributing to the field of scholarly knowledge by harnessing the stages described into developing a structural corporate governance model that takes into account relevant aspects of corporate governance of SOEs and related enterprises. Following this, this thesis proposes that, in addition to emulating the developed model, establishing a supervisory board that constitutes representatives from public and private role players, as well as other external assurance providers and regulatory inspectors is key in mitigating problems of SOEs, especially in developing countries. This thesis contributes to the field of scholarly knowledge by synthesising disjointed literature on public entrepreneurship, developing and demonstrating a theoretical comparative sampling method, extending the role of government, theoretically developing a conceptual framework, dimensional theory, as well as developing a structural corporate governance model. / Business Management / D. Phil. (Accounting Sciences)