Dead Firms: Causes and Effects of Cross-Border Corporate Insolvency
Advanced Series in Management
Co-edited volume by:- · Miguel Torres, Leeds University, UK
- · Virginia Cathro, University of Otago, New Zealand
- · Maria Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez, Universidad EAFIT, Colombia
New deadline for chapter’s proposal (Up to 300 words): 8 October 2015
New possibility for mini-cases on:
· Internationalised versus failed to internationalise firms
· Company autopsy: Case studies that speak from the grave
New deadline for submission of full chapters: 15 December 2015
In general lines, insolvency is a state in which the debtor is proven unable to pay corporate debtors. We aim to explore the contemporary causes and effects of corporate cross-border insolvency (CCBI). This state occurs when the debtor’s assets or liabilities are located by virtue of being cross-border in more than one country, or if the debtor is subject to the jurisdiction of courts from two or more countries (UNCITRAL, 2014). In the realms of international business, CCBI could be mediated by events experienced during the internationalization of the firm, which may encompass a loss of capital, loss of revenue and loss of credit. Problems experienced that ‘drag on’ and are exacerbated by a tangled web of interconnected occurrences, like credit problems resulting from waiting for promised payments that never happen, accumulating unpaid bills and the accrual of situations that reduce the firm’s credit at home and abroad. The potential for small events to compound and morph in firms that control and manage production establishments located in two (or more) countries is greater than the same potential for those that keep a domestic profile (Teece, 1985; UNCITRAL, 2014). If unaddressed, these ‘business, as usual’ issues reach a point where a viable organisation is transformed into a dead firm. Although many businesses are too well aware of these potential problems, some (albeit perhaps in hindsight) fail to deal with these issues effectively. This is conceivably a result of the lack of applied literature on this topic. Academic literature points to a significant number of firms are unable to deal with these types of obstacles and as a result die prematurely (Boswell, 1972; Cressy, 2006; Mata & Portugal, 1994; Saridakis, Mole & Hay, 2013). These obstacles which might be called ‘contributing factors’ or ‘cause of death’ in a post mortem are in the context of business a lack of productivity (Frazer, 2005), financial constraints (Musso & Schiavo, 2008; Bridges & Guariglia, 2008), failure of effective institutions (Girma, Gorg & Strobl, 2007), absence of functioning markets or lack of competitiveness (Johnson, Price & Vugt, 2013), population density at the time of founding (Utterback & Suárez, 1993), lack of innovation (Fernandes & Paunov, 2014) and obsolesce (Ramseyer, 1981). These contributing or attributable factors that explain CCBI and ‘organisational death’, is the “raw material” of this edited volume that aims to achieve and answer to the bigger picture question of “Why do firms die?” This volume seeks to explore international and cross-disciplinary perspectives, if you like a forensic examination, autopsy or post mortem of ‘how and why’ companies die. This alternate perspective flips the focus on survival, as all existing firms are in truth survivors, to consider through the metaphors of death, (with forensic analysis, autopsy, post mortems and crime scene investigations) the lessons ‘dead firms’ might offer. Contributions to this volume could herald from a range of different literatures including, but possibly not limited to, management, international business, economics, and international law. Empirical analyses based on primary and secondary data from different countries that add value to comtemporary understanding of CCBI are encouraged.
Theoretical contributions will also be considered, along with contributions considering the ‘cold-blooded murder’ of a cross-border company ensuing mergers and acquisitions.
Topics that may fit this volume’s editorial intentions include (but are not limited to) the following:
As a volume in the Advanced Series in Management, this scholarly book will contribute to researchers’ understanding of the development, antecedents, processes and consequences of corporate insolvency around the world. It may also be used as a reference in executive education programs or as a textbook in graduate (or advanced undergraduate programmes) in Business Schools.
Full chapters are expected to have between 10,000 and 12,000 words; and mini cases around 4,000 words ( (including references, figures, and tables). Only original work whose copyright is owned (or cleared) by the chapter authors, and not considered for publication elsewhere, can be considered for inclusion in the ASM series.
Scholars whose work is likely to fit this call for chapters are invited to contact the editors via email (miguel.torres@ua.pt; virginia.cathro@otago.ac.nz; mgonza40@eafit.edu.co) to discuss their ideas and in preliminary form assess whether their contribution would be included. Brief descriptions (300 words or less) of the main contents of their chapter, their methodology and about 200-word author(s)’ bio(s) highlighting their expertise in the area should be sent to all editors for initial consideration, before October 8, 2015.
Publication of volume: about four months after final, revised chapters have been received by the volume editors; expected in mid-2016.
Books in the Advanced Series in Management may be obtained in both electronic and paper form and are included in Thomson Reuters Book Citation Index. The Book Citation Index is a product within the Thomson Web of Science. Web of Science includes citation databases such as the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and the Conference Proceedings Citation Index. The Book Citation Index (BKCI) means that scholars can now access citation data across all major publication formats. This title is indexed in Scopus. For more information on the Advanced Series in Management, please visit: http://emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/books/series.htm?id=1877-6361
For information pertaining to Emerald’s style guide refer to http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/ebookseries/author_guidelines.htm.
Topics that may fit this volume’s editorial intentions include (but are not limited to) the following:
- • The Nature and Impact of “Death Firms” on International Business
- • Causes and effects of death of internationalized firms
- • State-of-the-Art in Death Firms
- • Internationalised versus failed to internationalise firms
- • Company autopsy: Case studies that speak from the grave
As a volume in the Advanced Series in Management, this scholarly book will contribute to researchers’ understanding of the development, antecedents, processes and consequences of corporate insolvency around the world. It may also be used as a reference in executive education programs or as a textbook in graduate (or advanced undergraduate programmes) in Business Schools.
Full chapters are expected to have between 10,000 and 12,000 words; and mini cases around 4,000 words ( (including references, figures, and tables). Only original work whose copyright is owned (or cleared) by the chapter authors, and not considered for publication elsewhere, can be considered for inclusion in the ASM series.
Scholars whose work is likely to fit this call for chapters are invited to contact the editors via email (miguel.torres@ua.pt; virginia.cathro@otago.ac.nz; mgonza40@eafit.edu.co) to discuss their ideas and in preliminary form assess whether their contribution would be included. Brief descriptions (300 words or less) of the main contents of their chapter, their methodology and about 200-word author(s)’ bio(s) highlighting their expertise in the area should be sent to all editors for initial consideration, before October 8, 2015.
Important deadlines
- Preliminary screening of ideas for chapters: 8 October 2015 (up to 300 words abstract)
- Full chapters: 15 December 2015 (around 10,000 words)
- Acceptance notifications or requests for revisions: about four weeks after full chapter manuscript is received;
- Submission of revised manuscripts: No later than 20 January 2016.
Publication of volume: about four months after final, revised chapters have been received by the volume editors; expected in mid-2016.
Books in the Advanced Series in Management may be obtained in both electronic and paper form and are included in Thomson Reuters Book Citation Index. The Book Citation Index is a product within the Thomson Web of Science. Web of Science includes citation databases such as the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and the Conference Proceedings Citation Index. The Book Citation Index (BKCI) means that scholars can now access citation data across all major publication formats. This title is indexed in Scopus. For more information on the Advanced Series in Management, please visit: http://emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/books/series.htm?id=1877-6361
For information pertaining to Emerald’s style guide refer to http://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/products/ebookseries/author_guidelines.htm.
References:
- Agarwal, R. & Audretsch, D. B. (2001). Does Entry size Matter? The Impact of Life Cycle and Technology on Firm Survival, Journal of Industrial Economics, 49(1), 21-43.
- Audretsch, D. B. (1991). New-Firm Survival and the Technological Regime. Review of Economics and Statistics, 73(3), 441-450.
- Audretsch, D. B. (1995). Innovation, Growth and Survival. International Journal of Industrial Organization, 13(4), 441-457.
- Audretsch, D. B. & Mahmood, T. (1995). New Firm Survival: New Results Using a Hazard Function. Review of Economics and Statistics, 77(1), 97-103.
- Boswell, Jonathan (1972). The Rise and Decline of Small Firms. London, UK, George Allen & Unwin Limited.
- Bridges, S. & Guariglia, A. (2008). Financial constraints, global engagement, and firm survival in the United Kingdom: evidence from micro data, Scottish Journal of Political Economy, 55(4), 444-464.
- Cefis, E. & Marsili, O. (2006). Survivor: The Role of Innovation in Firms’ Survival. Research Policy, 35(5), 626-641.
- Cressy, R. (2006). Why do most firms die young? Small Business Economics. 26(2), 103-106.
- Fernandes, A. M. & Paunov, C. (2014). The risks of innovation: Are innovative firms less likely to die? The Review of Economics and Statistics (accepted for publication).
- Frazer, G. (2005). Which firms die? A look at manufacturing firm exit in Ghana. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 53(3), 585-617.
- Girma, S., Gorg, H. & Strobl, E. (2007). The Effects of Government Grants on Plant Survival: A Micro-Econometric Analysis, International Journal of Industrial Organization, 25(4), 701-720.
- Johnson, D P., Price, M. E. & Van Vugt, M. (2013). Darwin’s invisible hand: Market competition, evolution and the firm. Journal of Economic Behaviour & Organization, 90(1), S128-S140.
- Mata, José and Portugal, Pedro (1994). Life Duration of New Firms.Journal of Industrial Economics, 42(3), 227-245.
- Musso, Patrick & Schiavo, Stefano (2008), The impact of financial constraints on firm survival and growth, Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 18(2), 135-149.
- Ramseyer, J. Mark (1981), Letting obsolete firms die: Trade adjustment assistance in the United States and Japan. Harvard International Law Journal, 22(3), 595-619.
- Saridakis, G., Mole, K. & Hay, G. (2013), Liquidity constraints in the first year of trading and firm performance. International Small Business Journal. 31(5), 520-535.
- Teece, D. (1985), Multinational Enterprise, Internal Governance, and Industrial Organization. The American Economic Review. 75(2), 233-238.
- UNCITRAL (2014), UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency with Guide to Enactment and Interpretation, Vienna, Austria, United Nations.
- Utterback, J. M. & Suárez, F. F. (1993), Innovation, competition and industry. Research Policy, 22(1), 1-21.
