State-Owned Enterprises

The following article attempts to answer the question about the role transnational corporations (TNCs) play in the modern world. The issues discussed in this article have been presented in two main parts. The first part focuses on the world's largest TNCs according to the following criteria: the value of the revenues, market capitalization and foreign assets. The discussion in the second part focuses on defining the role that transnational corporations play in the world economy. A number of different characteristics reflecting the economic potential of TNCs have been used in this article such as: asset value, employment rate, sales volume and research and development potential, which are linked to selected parameters describing the volume of international production. The analysis of TNC development and their present position has been presented from a historical perspective, which made it possible to identify the conditions of as well as the major changes in the process of enterprise internationalisation. The following article highlights the dynamic development of corporations in developing countries and the ever more common phenomenon of state-owned enterprises or enterprises with a state’s capital playing a role on the international stage.

Keywords: transnational corporations (TNCs), multinational firms, international business , foreign direct investment (FDI), global economy.

J E L Classification: F21, F23

The study sought to identify the traditional political institutions and modern democratic governance in Ghana by using Akim Abuakwa as the case study. Eleven communities in the Abuakwa Traditional area were specifically selected for the study. The study employed the probability sampling technique which is more scientific in selecting forty-five (45) participants to participate in the study. The study employed the institutional model framework as its theoretical approach. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in collecting data from traditional authorities in the selected communities for the study. The quantitative data employed a standardized questionnaire whilst the qualitative data employed an interview guide. These data collection tools were used to collect primary data for the study. Secondary data was collected through articles, journals and online materials that related to the topic under study. The collected data was analyzed using the SPSS Package and was presented in charts and figures.

The study established that the traditional leaders in the country initiate and embark on a number of developmental projects on their own. It was also established that they partner the government in harnessing development for their various communities. It was again established that the traditional authority system is still relevant in modern society despite the immense changes it has encountered. The study again established that there is the need for the chieftaincy institution in the country to be refined in order for it to be abreast with the changing trend of society. The study concluded by making some recommendations for stakeholders in the institution. One major recommendation is that NGOs and stakeholders in the traditional establishments in the society should come on board and help the traditional authorities in developmental projects in the various communities.

Digitalisasi kini tidak lagi dipandang sebatas jargon yang lekat dengan pemanfaatan gadget dan internet, melainkan digitalisasi sudah menjadi tolok ukur kemajuan sebuah tatanan peradaban dan performa korporasi. Tak ayal, kadar penerapan digitalisasi dalam sebuah organisasi ataupun perusahaan kerap dibandingkan dan disandingkan dengan sesamanya sehingga disadari atau tidak, aura kompetisipun semakin kentara. Hampir semua perusahaan atau perorangan ingin maju dan berkembang dengan digitalisasi. Namun bagi pemangku jabatan, diperlukan kehati-hatian dan adanya panduan yang jelas tentang arah kebijakan terkait implementasi digitalisasi di dalam perusahaan yang mereka nahkodai. Salah satu instrumen atau ukuran yang digunakan untuk mengukur kualitas dan posisi dari adanya inisiatif digital yang dilakukan di dalam sebuah organisasi adalah dengan menggunakan pendekatan "6 Tingkatan Kedewasaan Transformasi Digital" yang diperkenalkan oleh Brian Solis pada tahun 2016 yang akan dipaparkan lebih mendalam di dalam makalah ini. Badan Usaha Milik Negara (BUMN), sebagai perpanjangan tangan pemerintah dalam mengelola cabang-cabang produksi sumber daya kekayaan alam yang menyangkut hajat hidup orang banyak, dalam beberapa tahun terakhir telah berhasil menunjukkan wibawanya untuk menjadi layak diperhitungkan dalam kancah nasional maupun internasional dalam hal inisiatif digitalnya. Beberapa diantaranya menjadi soko guru dan katalisator, sedangkan yang lainnya masih beradaptasi dengan iklim digital yang perlahan menaikkan akselerasi untuk bisa setara. Selain harus bersinergi, BUMN perlu mematangkan strategi transformasi digital mereka agar bisa berkembang lebih pesat, bersaing lebih kuat, dan beroperasi lebih efisien sehingga tercapailah tujuan mulia BUMN sebagai penggerak perekonomian nasional yang mumpuni. Dalam prakteknya, BUMN harus mampu memberdayakan semua lini dan fungsinya dalam menyeleraskan gerak untuk berubah dan bersama menuju tata kelola yang lebih unggul dengan mengoptimalkan potensi/value creation melalui transformasi digital yang terstruktur dan revolusioner.

Over the past few decades, the global trading community has seen
the rising impact of state capitalism as more state-oriented
economies have become increasingly enmeshed in the global
trading system. State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) have become
major players in the global market. This was not the case when the
World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement was negotiated. At
that time, the WTO presented a somewhat balanced approach to the
conflicting needs of providing a stable, regulated global trade
environment and maintaining the sovereign right of states to govern
their economies and public policy goals in their own manner. The
growth of state-involved economies, such as China, and the
development of SOEs in traditional economies has led to increasing
concern over the impact of SOEs and countries􀂶 abilities to
circumvent agreed trade disciplines through their use. Meanwhile,
the WTO has proven to be an inadequate source of regulation to
address the impact of this rise in state capitalism. As attempts to
revise the WTO to address contemporary issues ended without
success, countries have increasingly turned to bilateral and
regional preferential trade agreements (PTAs) to address their
concerns and ensure that the rise of the economic power of SOEs
does not harm the established conditions of competition in
international markets.
In this article, we analyze the implications of the various
approaches taken by the PTAs in addressing SOEs and whether they
have sufficiently established a regime that will achieve the balance
sought. The article places those disciplines in the context of the
current trade regimes, while considering that establishing trade
rules concerning SOEs raise fundamental questions about the
nature and degree of government involvement in commercial affairs
and the right of other governments to inquire into such involvement.
The key is to recognize that there are two simultaneous goals atto create the conditions for internationally contestable markets; on
the other hand, negotiators seek to permit domestic constituencies
to maintain sufficient policy space for using SOEs to contribute to
important public goals.
The emerging approaches to trade regulation of SOEs are thus
tested against such dual purposes, as well as whether they address
the tensions existing at the WTO level. Particularly, the present
study is the first to offer a comprehensive horizontal evaluation of
the trade regulation of SOEs designed by contemporary PTAs
adopted by the US, the EU, and other major trading partners. We
conclude through this analysis that, contrary to what is maintained
by other scholars, the current rules have not achieved balance.
There are weaknesses in the trade disciplines established by
contemporary PTAs that will lead to continued conflict among the
various aims and to continued stresses in the global trading system.
The article first discusses the objectives behind trade disciplines to
ensure the international contestability of markets, tempered by the
need to allow individual countries to use SOEs to achieve important
public policy goals. In the following part, we examine the traditional
rules governing trade as interpreted by the WTO dispute settlement
bodies and how they have addressed SOEs􀂶 commercial and
financial activities over time. Next, having established the relevant
context, we provide a critical evaluation of the PTA rules on SOEs,
considering whether they have achieved the goals the negotiators
had in mind. Finally, the article concludes that developing a
regulation that balances the competing needs of international
contestability with individual countries􀂶 ability to achieve their
public policy goals is a work in progress. Overall, we find that,
while the most advanced PTAs address SOEs􀂶 commercial and
financial activities more extensively than the WTO, the result has
not achieved a regime that fully balances all the competing goals.

Este libro recoge diversos estudios jurídicos sobre Petróleos de Venezuela S.A. PDVSA y sobre la industria petrolera nacionalizada venezulana, escritos entre 1974 y 2021, y publicado isladamente en diversas revistas y obras colectivas.
P'DVSA fue hasta comienzos dedel siglo XXI la m's importante empresa pública o empresa del Estado en toda Latinoamérica.

This study proposes a model in which organizational identification mediates the correlations among state-owned enterprises (SOEs), authentic leadership, Christian religiousness, and unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB). The proposed theoretical framework is based on moral identity theory, social identity theory, and social exchange theory. We tested the hypothesized model using data (N  =  389) from employees of various companies and industries in Poland. Of the respondents, 49.1% worked in SOEs. The reliability and validity of the measures were established. The correlation coefficients among the analyzed variables were obtained using the bootstrap confidence interval method. To thoroughly examine the causal relationships among the variables, covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) was adopted. Path analysis was conducted and used to verify a model in which organizational identification mediated the correlations among state involvement in the ownership of an enterprise, authentic leadership, Christian religiousness, and UPB. State involvement in the ownership of an enterprise, authentic leadership, and Christian religiousness were linked to increased organizational identification, which in turn was linked to the intensification of UPB. With the level of organizational identification controlled, state ownership of an enterprise was linked to lower UPB intensity. Limitations, implications and future research directions are discussed.

A partir de una revisión bibliográfica preliminar en el marco de la formulación del proyecto cualitativo de tesis doctoral en Ingeniería – Industria y Organizaciones, en esta ponencia planteo la necesidad de establecer un diálogo teórico y metodológico entre la ética de la virtud aristotélica y los estudios organizacionales, que permita abordar la
Responsabilidad Social (RS) de Organizaciones estatales, de una forma prescriptiva y descriptiva, alternativa a la tendencia mecanicista dominante en la administración. Esta última suele limitar el análisis organizacional a las empresas privadas y a la generación de utilidades, excluyendo otras dimensiones de la gestión de organizaciones, tales como la búsqueda de la virtud como base de la felicidad y el buen vivir. Para desarrollar esta
discusión, se exponen los principales abordajes de la responsabilidad social desde la ética organizacional y las ciencias sociales, identificando puntos de encuentro entre la
ética de la virtud aristotélica y los estudios organizacionales, en especial alrededor del caso de la reciente aprobación por parte del Concejo de Medellín, de la Asociación Público Privada (APP) UNE-EPM-Millicom. Como resultado, se traza una ruta de
preguntas de investigación del proyecto doctoral orientado a la comprensión de dicha asociación.

During this paper I carry on the analysis of some aspects of the Balance Sheet of the State-owned company of Italy, Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (I.R.I.), and the Spanish one Instituto Nacional de Industria (I.N.I.). I will start by presenting the introduction to the Research about the comparison of the 2 Institutions, then I will calculate the Roe Ratio of the Financial Statement of I.N.I. and I.R.I. The data I will use to calculate these ratios is collected from the I.N.I. Balance Sheets that, in some cases, I will integrate by the elaboration of the data present in Apéndice Estadística of I.N.I., by Comín and Martín Aceña, and the data I collected in the I.R.I. Archive.

The study aims to test and empirically prove the effect of empowerment and employee engagement on job satisfaction and organizational commitment and its impact on performance at PT Perkebunan Nusantara V. The study focused on employees who worked in the plantation area, especially those in the afdeling PT Perkebunan Nusantara V Riau. Afdeling or division is the smallest unit of the plantation management, which is an administrative area that manages agronomic plantations with an area of between 500-1000 hectares. The sample in this study were 360 respondents who are staff employees and non-staff employees at the supervisor
level. The research sample was taken by purposive sampling. Data was collected by providing questionnaires and interviews, then analyzed using descriptive analysis and processed using the Structural Equation Model (SEM) with Partial Least Square (PLS) programs. The latent variables in this study are empowerment, employee engagement, job satisfaction, organizational commitment and performance. The results of this study indicated that: (1) empowerment has no significant effect on job satisfaction (2) empowerment has no significant effect on organizational commitment; (3) employee engagement has a significant effect on job satisfaction (4) employee engagement has a significant effect on organizational commitment; (5) job satisfaction has no
significant effect on performance; and (6) organizational commitment has no significant effect on performance.

Keywords: employee engagement, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, palm oil plantation, state-owned enterprises

In this paper we examine the relationship among business groups (BGs) in Chile in the long run, focusing on the relations between the state viewed as a BG and privately-owned BGs from 1970 to 2010. Our analysis proceeds within the methodological perspective of interlocking directorates (IDs) analysis.  Working with a unique database of the boards of affiliated firms to BGs, we consider IDs as a way to learn about the cohesion and relation between these BGs. We include a period of political change and institutional and economic modernization in Chile, which also involved a transformation in the character of the entrepreneurial class in the country. We find that the state BG has played an important role in the networks of Chilean capitalism. Our work complements the literature on BGs and state capitalism, showing the rich nature of social networks in a capitalist society.

The article reconstructs the history of the Italian state-owned holding Finmeccanica, which since its birth in 1948 lived through a number of corporate reorganizations (shipyards, automobiles with Alfa Romeo, energy) and is now one of the leading European companies in aerospace and defence. With reference to the history of the Italian state entrepreneurship, this case may be paradigmatic of the advent of a new era, characterized by partially privatized enterprises in sectors considered strategic which
are successful in the international arena (Finmeccanica, ENI). The article shows that the aeronautics, space and electronics divisions began in the 1950s and as a result of their technological characteristics were kept relatively free from political interference, with a strong propensity to pursue internationalization and thus competitiveness. The conclusion is that, under certain conditions, state ownership may result effective in ensuring not
only adequate financial resources, but also a proper managerial governance.

The dissatisfaction with executive remuneration worldwide has increased because it is generally believed to have been instrumental to the 2008 Global Economic crisis. Central to this is the apparent unsatisfactory relationship between business performance and chief executive officer (CEO) remuneration. The primary aim of this study was to compare the pay-for-performance association between CEOs’ remuneration and state-owned entity performance before, during and after the economic crisis. It did so by assessing the chief executive remuneration link with state-owned enterprise performance from the period 2006 to  2014. Design/methodology/approach: Twenty-one schedule 2 state-owned enterprises in South Africa. This quantitative, longitudinal study, obtained secondary data from the annual reports of state-owned enterprises from the period 2006 to 2014. Ordinary least square multiple regression analysis was used as the principal statistical method. Findings/results: The findings indicate that the link between chief executive remuneration and state-owned entity performance demonstrated different patterns in the pre-and post-crisis periods. Practical implications: State-owned entity remuneration committees should place more emphasis on the financial efficiency measurements to enhance efficiencies in South African state-owned enterprises. Shareholders and regulators should take cognisance of measures to be used to assess the potential performance of state-owned entities, through executive remuneration, especially during an economic crisis. Findings could furthermore be of importance to other academics investigating this phenomenon. Originality/value: This research provides additional knowledge to the limited research available on SOEs in South Africa. Further, it reveals that an economic downturn affects the link between CEOs' remuneration and SOE performance. This addresses a knowledge gap concerning the pay-for-performance link in South African SOEs and in emerging economies in general.

El reporte ejecutivo presenta los resultados del Índice de Transparencia de Empresas Productivas del Estado (IT-EPEs), una herramienta que identifica las prácticas de transparencia corporativa al interior de Pemex y CFE y evalúa la calidad de información que estas empresas difunden desde su constitución en diciembre de 2014 y hasta noviembre del 2018. El objetivo final del estudio es impulsar con evidencia mejores prácticas de transparencia corporativa en las EPEs para fortalecer el modelo de gobierno corporativo y contribuir a que estas empresas sean más eficientes, más competitivas y más eficaces en la prevención de actos de corrupción. Co-autores: Fernanda Ballesteros (también coordinadora responsable del proyecto), Marco Ramos (investigador junior)y Ana Lilia Moreno (investigadora senior)

China's effectiveness in quickly solving the health crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic and in softening its economic impact is rooted in the structural characteristics of its development model, in which state-owned enterprises remain crucial. This article holds that a strong public presence within the industrial and banking sectors has provided Chinese government with the opportunity to rapidly reactivate domestic production and, potentially, to maximise the effectiveness of the recently launched monetary and fiscal policy measures. ARTICLE HISTORY

Dealing with corruption is essential for the health of social agents no matter what their political, social or economic nature is. A generic theory of corruption is explored that it stems from the connection between ideology and ethics. It shows that political, economic and social dimensions of activity can all contribute to processes of corruption when a complexity of ideological/ethical interconnections becomes pathological. Without adopting ethical, honesty, social responsibility and moral issues in practice, corruption cannot be eradicated. In addition, a public servant dimension of activity can also be involved in contributing to process of corruption when a complexity of ideological/ ethical interconnections becomes pathological for future consideration. Illustration of the issues that are involved is provided by a brief examination of the Thai police, the Ratchadaphesek Road case, and the Reformation Plan for the State Railway of Thailand. 

Keywords: Corruption, Knowledge cybernetics, Ideology, Ethics, Pathologies.

Hasta ahora no se ha pensado cómo se puede mejorar la gobernabilidad de Pemex. En particular, sería relevante conocer cómo el nuevo modelo de empresa productiva del estado ayudó o afectó el ambiente de control y combate a la corrupción dentro de la empresa.

For the past decade, there has been a heated public discussion about the privatization of State Owned Enterprises (SOE) in Suriname.  There seems to be a need for privatization as a way to release the government of its debt burden, accrued by some SOE’s that is a result of mismanagement, but at the same time this need or pressure is clashing with political friction that touches upon the effects of privatization on the social fabric of society (IDB, 2014). For if one of the main purposes of government from a point of view of Public Administration, is to provide affordable services to the public than privatization would only make sense if it would tend to achieve this goal. The risk that privatization could go wrong, in the sense of outcome for the local population, in general, is high.  A neoliberalist approach that forms part of the Washington Consensus  is highly likely to be followed, based on Suriname’s trade agreements with the US and arrangements with donor organizations that prescribe a neo-liberal view on privatization. The Private Sector Assessment Report (IDB, 2014) that was done by the IDB on the request of the government prescribes as one of the suggestions the privatization of  Public Enterprises, based on a neo-liberal view on private ownership.  With this in mind, I take the current wave of privatization plans as a point of departure and will make some recommendations based on what I have learned from the available literature. One of my guiding approaches comes from Professor Cheung who introduced an alternative understanding of private property rights and how to get the same development results propagated by neo-liberal theory, without private ownership.  His findings are based on China’s privatization with Chinese characteristics.