Search Results (7)

Some giant US conglomerates are now undergoing corporate spin-offs or are considering such spin-offs in the near future. Corporate spin-offs offer a unique opportunity to assess corporate capital structure decisions. The leverage ratio of the spin-off firms represents their initial capital structure. We investigate the capital structure of corporate spin-offs and find evidence that they adhere to the trade-off theory. This study provides evidence that the subsidiary firms tend to aim for a target capital ratio during the sample period. The results indicate that the partial adjustment model with firm fixed effects is a good fit for the data sample. The parent companies in corporate spin-offs exhibit a similar pattern but with a slower adjustment speed. The tendency to target capital ratios is observable in both market value and book value leverage measures for the parent and subsidiary firms. Indicators of the pecking order assumption do not possess statistically significant coefficients. Changes in share price affect market debt ratios in the short term. With alternative definitions of leverage, the estimated adjustment speeds vary. In the case of longer horizons, the results align with a continuous rate of adjustment. Full article

Drug discovery and development require significant costs and time, making investment acquisition crucial. However, there are few biopharmaceutical startups with high valuations in Japan. Unlike other countries, entrepreneurship in Japan is relatively inactive, and startups have a minimal presence in the drug-discovery field. Instead, in Japan’s innovation system, research and development (R&D) has been led by large incumbent companies, which are believed to have a wealth of promising assets and talent. This study tested the hypothesis that biopharmaceutical startups leveraging these assets and talent might be more attractive to investors by regression analysis using a dataset of Japanese unlisted biopharmaceutical startups. The results demonstrated that Japanese biopharmaceutical startups showed significantly higher valuations and total funding amounts if they were corporate spin-offs (CSOs). Additionally, they achieved significantly higher valuations and total funding amounts if their R&D lead persons had corporate backgrounds. These findings suggest that in Japan’s innovation system, which is centered on large companies, CSOs and startups leveraging R&D talent with corporate experience may be more appealing to investors. Full article

We find that planned cryptocurrency forks, like voluntary corporate spin-offs, are wealth-creating. Involuntary forks that are forced due to hacks and other problems with the blockchain are not. We find diminishing returns for second-generation forks, alleviating the concern of forking solely for wealth creation. Full article

This study aimed to investigate the impact of parent companies and other multiple large shareholders (MLSs) on the audit fees in Japanese firms, where stakeholder-oriented corporate governance is adopted. In such a firm, monitoring by many stakeholders can mitigate conflicts among shareholders. However, because the key stakeholders of these firms tend to resolve information asymmetry problems through insider communication, the level of audit effort is affected not only by the audit risk from principal–principal conflicts, but also by the demands of key stakeholders. Japanese parent companies tend to spin off their departments with high growth potential and provide incentives to lower subsidiaries’ cost of capital through information disclosure. Therefore, parent companies require greater audit efforts, and consequently, audit fees are expected to be higher. However, when MLSs are shareholders of the listed subsidiary, they can obtain relevant information via private communication. Thus, the need for quality accounting information will be smaller, the level of audit effort required will be smaller, and as a result, audit fees will be smaller. The results are consistent with these expectations. This paper contributes to the sustainable growth and economic development of firms and markets and has implications for the development of effective corporate governance mechanisms. Full article

Despite international interest in corporate entrepreneurship research, relevant knowledge has not been systematically accumulated. Even in practice, the discussions of corporate entrepreneurship revolve around the appropriate level necessary and the preferred method of action. This paper proposes an evolutionary model that outlines corporate entrepreneurship overall in terms of an organization’s entrepreneurial activities. For the research objective, this paper includes in-depth case studies on Samsung’s Creative Lab. The Creative-Lab of Samsung has been actively implementing corporate venture system for eight years. We conducted collective case studies by focusing on a single case (Creative-Lab) and then moving to multiple cases (Creative-Lab spin-off companies). Firstly, the study identifies the development process of entrepreneurship from the individual-level to the firm-level, and from the firm-level to the social-level. Secondly, the study confirms that corporate venturing and the corporate spin-off system have a positive impact on entrepreneurial behavior, which is crucial to seize opportunities. Thirdly, based on the growth factors and performance of corporate entrepreneurship, an evolutionary model of corporate entrepreneurship is proposed in this paper. This study can contribute to the establishment of an integrated and structured mechanism of related research as it comprehensively reviews the antecedents, elements, and outcomes of corporate entrepreneurship. Full article

In many productive sectors, ensuring a safe working environment is still an underestimated problem, and especially so in farming. A lack of attention to safety and poor risk awareness by operators represents a crucial problem, which results in numerous serious injuries and fatal accidents. The Demetra project, involving the collaboration of the Regional Directorate of INAIL (National Institute for Insurance against Accidents at Work), aims to devise operational solutions to evaluate the risk of accidents in agricultural work and analyze the dynamics of occupational accidents by using an observational method to help farmers ensure optimal safety levels. The challenge of the project is to support farmers with tools designed to encourage good safety management in the agricultural workplaces. Full article

The evaluation of the dynamics of accidents involving the overturning of farm tractors is difficult for both engineers and coroners. A clear reconstruction of the causes, vectorial forces, speed, acceleration, timing and direction of rear, front and side rollovers may be complicated by the complexity of the lesions, the absence of witnesses and the death of the operator, and sometimes also by multiple overturns. Careful analysis of the death scene, vehicle, traumatic lesions and their comparison with the mechanical structures of the vehicle and the morphology of the terrain, should help experts to reconstruct the dynamics of accidents and may help in the design of new preventive equipment and procedures. Full article