This study analyzes the foundations and closures of the total population of Swedish commercial banks in 1831-1990 using both semi-parametric and parametric event-history methods. With reference to the comparatively rigid control of entries and exits in banking, five hypotheses are formulated: (1) acquisitions constitute the principal reason for closure in banking; (2) the early years are less hazardous for banks than for members of other industries; (3) the survival patterns of banks are related to the freedom of banking operations; (4) the survival rates of banks are positively related to the general economic activity at the time of foundation; and (5) the survival rates of banks are negatively related to the degree to which customer relationships already exist. The findings support the first, second, third and fifth hypotheses; some evidence also favours the fourth hypothesis
Massive open online courses (MOOCs), which first appeared in the USA in 2008, have, of late, been hyped in the higher education space, and have evolved substantially world-wide in the last few years. In view of the fact that past applications of technological tools in education have not redeemed the high expectations for innovation, an interesting question is whether this latest development in the use of ICT will fundamentally change and improve higher education. A particularly important issue concerns how and to what degree it will have an impact on policies and practices of learning and teaching in higher education institutions. In this volume, researchers in the field of educational technology, MOOC developers and users critically analyse and discuss the current state-of-the-art from different perspectives. In addition, the volume presents views on possible future developments and influences of open and flexible digital learning and teaching. This book is based on the presentations and discussions at a symposium held in Stockholm in late May 2015, arranged jointly by the Academia Europaea and the Wenner-Gren Foundations
Both business historians and organisation studies scholars study institutional change to understand the interactions between business and society. However, research approaches differ fundamentally, with organisational research focusing on theory-driven explanations, whereas historical research is rather theory-informed. The consequence of such disciplinary orientation is that interdisciplinary conversations rarely occur. For this special issue, we invited submissions that address how historical research can contribute to our understanding of institutional change while demonstrating dual integrity' in terms of being significant pieces of historical research that provide us with new insights into historiography and at the same time addressing important theoretical concerns.
In analyzing banks as organizations this paper employs a model which distinguishes between three main actor groups in an organization: providers, personnel and customers. They are linked together by technology through different kinds of actor interface. Through the analysis four organizational issues are identified: flow, technology, allocation and quality. In addition different organizational solutions to handle these issues are discussed.
According to the theoretical point of departure for this chapter organizations are governed through interplay between regulators, market actors and scrutinizers. Regulators provide rules for action; market actors offer standards and scrutinizers (inspection bodies, media, NGOs, etc.) act as a force between regulators and market actors. This reasoning is applied to banking in general and processes of deregulation in particular. Before that the paper presents the basic features of banking that are important for their governance by the three said forces.