Interfirm technology alliances represent an important mechanism through which firms develop new technologies, products and processess. Research shows that the governance structure of such alliances is an important factor affecting the contribution it makes to a firm's innovativeness. Joint ventures are proven to be more effective knowledge transfer vehicles than contractual agreements, and yet alliance formation research shows that firms often govern technology alliances by the latter. If innovation motivates technology alliance governance decisions and if joint ventures increase firm innovativeness, then it is not clear why so many alliances are governed by contactual agreement. This paper tackles this conundrum and aims to advance understanding of the mechanisms connecting alliance governance to a firm's innovativeness.

In this article Mohammed Alzahrani and Meziane Lasfer look at how dividend payments of firms listed in 24 OECD member countries are affected by different levels of investor protection. Previous evidence that firms in high investor protection countries pay higher dividends in the presence of tax costs of dividends is reassessed.

With the recent Occupy movement, the concept of ethics and trust in the City has barely left the news - the perception remains that the City does not serve the wider economy and society.

On October 27th 2011, leading figures came together to discuss a recent initiative to restore trust in the City. The aim of this initiative, established by The Rt Hon The Lord Mayor, Alderman Michael Bear, was to look at practical ways to embed the right values and behaviours in the DNA of every City business and worker.

This major research report, produced by Cass for Airmic (the Association of Insurance and Risk Managers in Industry and Commerce) investigates the origins and impact of over twenty major corporate crises of the last decade.

The crises examined involved substantial, well known organisations such as Coca-Cola, Shell and BP, as well as some smaller firms. Several did not survive and most of the rest suffered severe damage.