v11i3 – Junior Management Science

A Tax Analysis of Direct Investments in Bulgaria Versus Business Expansion in Germany for Medium-Sized Companies

Rozmari Genova, Europa-Universität Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) (Master Thesis)
Junior Management Science 11(3), 2026, 488-512

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Eastern European countries are becoming increasingly important for German medium-sized enterprises, with Bulgaria emerging as a relevant investment destination. Against this background, this thesis examines whether direct investment in Bulgaria provides tax advantages compared to domestic business expansion in Germany, focusing on the quantification of tax burden differences. Three forms of direct investment are analysed: a permanent establishment, a partnership, and a corporation. Based on an analysis of relevant tax frameworks in both countries and the applicable tax treaty, a five-year Monte Carlo simulation covering profit and loss scenarios is conducted to assess industry-independent tax effects of a Bulgarian direct investment compared to a domestic expansion. The results show that investment in Bulgaria is generally more tax-efficient, particularly when structured as a permanent establishment (average tax benefit: 26.83% in profit scenario). In loss periods, however, the foreign investment leads to a higher tax burden than the domestic case. The analysis underlines Bulgaria’s tax potential for German medium-sized companies while emphasizing realistic tax planning and company- and location-specific factors in cross-border investment decisions.

Keywords: foreign direct investment; international taxation; Monte Carlo simulation; domestic business expansion; tax treaty law; Germany–Bulgaria tax comparison.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v11i3pp488-512

CEO Narcissism and Stock Market Reactions: An Empirical Analysis

Paul Lehmann, Technische Universität Dresden (Bachelorarbeit)
Junior Management Science 11(3), 2026, 513-531

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This bachelor thesis examines how stock markets react to CEO turnover events involving narcissistic leaders. CEO signature size is utilized as an unobtrusive, archival proxy for narcissism, and data from 341 NASDAQ-listed firms over the period 2004–2024 is analyzed. An event study methodology is applied, with cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) calculated over a (-2, +2) day window surrounding CEO appointment announcements. Regression analyses with robust standard errors are conducted to assess the relationship between CEO narcissism and stock market reactions. The results indicate that no significant relationship exists between CEO narcissism and stock price reactions at the time of appointment. However, CEO duality—where the newly appointed CEO also serves as board chair, signifying concentrated power—is found to be a significant predictor of negative market reactions. These findings suggest that investors prioritize governance structures over individual personality traits when assessing CEO appointments. It is concluded that corporate governance considerations play a more decisive role than CEO characteristics in shaping shareholder sentiment during turnover events. Since shareholders, through general meetings or proxy statements, vote on the appointment and removal of directors who select the CEO, the thesis researches whether investor preferences influence the demand for narcissistic leadership by analyzing stock market reactions to CEO appointments.

Keywords: CEO narcissism; CEO turnover; shareholder value; upper echelons theory.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v11i3pp513-531

Economic Policy Uncertainty and Investment: Cross-Country Evidence

Simon E. Liedtke, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Bachelorarbeit)
Junior Management Science 11(3), 2026, 532-550

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When investment is partially irreversible, uncertainty raises the option value of waiting and can delay investment. Yet evidence on the effects of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) remains predominantly US-based. This paper examines whether the negative EPU-investment relationship generalizes across countries. Using firm-level data for 25 countries from 1991 to 2024, the analysis estimates fixed-effects regressions of subsequent capital expenditures on the EPU index. A doubling in EPU is associated with a 10.8% decline in quarterly investment and a 14.9% decline in annual investment, on average. The negative association is widespread across countries and is particularly strong among firms with more irreversible investment, consistent with real options theory. However, the relationship varies substantially in magnitude across national settings with a minority of countries even exhibiting significant positive associations. These findings suggest that policy uncertainty is a broadly relevant determinant of corporate investment, while indicating that firms‘ responses depend on country-specific conditions.

Keywords: economic policy uncertainty; corporate investment; real options theory; cross-country evidence.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v11i3pp532-550

Breaking the Glass Ceiling: The Effects on Perceived Equality of Women Joining the Management Board

Jan Patrick Tollkühn, Bocconi University (Bachelorarbeit)
Junior Management Science 11(3), 2026, 551-560

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Recent years have seen women being appointed to board positions at the highest rate ever, supported by awareness of gender inequality and increased regulatory pressure. While external effects of diversity have been explored, changes in internal perceptions remain unexplored. Using a sample of 76,240 ratings on the employer review site Kununu, this study explores the impact of women joining the management board of DAX40 firms for the first time in Germany. To test the effect, a staggered event study with time and firm fixed effects is utilised. The results show that there is an increase in gender equality perception in the quarters following the appointment, with the increase being most significant in the second and third quarters. The identification of non-significant results in the fourth quarter suggests a normalisation effect. The findings outline how changes in leadership shape internal perceptions of equality.

Keywords: board gender diversity; employee reviews; employee perceptions; corporate governance; event study.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v11i3pp551-560

Toward Reliable Emission Reporting: A Comparative Study of GHGRP Self-Reports and Climate TRACE Satellite Data

Felix Maximilian Kania, Technische Universität München (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 11(3), 2026, 561-597

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Accurate and transparent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data is crucial for effective climate mitigation, yet existing reporting systems remain inconsistent and difficult to verify. Carbon accounting has emerged to give structure and legitimacy to these measurement efforts by mandating rules for affected GHG emitters through programs such as the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) by the United States government. Historically, these programs have relied on self-reporting, significantly limiting the verifiability of corporate-reported data. In contrast, emerging non-profit organizations such as Climate TRACE (CT) estimate facility-level GHG emissions using satellite-based remote sensing. This study quantifies facility-level discrepancies between these datasets and identifies their key drivers. To do so, I systematically matched and compared facilities from both datasets based on reported emissions. I identified key predictors of these discrepancies using machine learning and Bayesian inference. My findings reveal that facility-specific effects drive most observed disparities, while parent-company and geographic influences play a secondary role. Industry-wide effects contribute minimally, with reporting year and total emissions volume having no significant impact. These results suggest that discrepancies stem from isolated inaccuracies rather than systemic errors, underscoring the need for hybrid verification frameworks that integrate self-reported (bottom-up) inventories with independent satellite-based monitoring (top-down) to enhance emissions transparency and accountability.

Keywords: greenhouse gas emissions; carbon accounting; emissions monitoring; satellite remote sensing; emissions verification.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v11i3pp561-597

Experimental Analysis of Gender Bias in Hiring within STEM Fields

Roya Kazimova, Technical University of Munich (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 11(3), 2026, 598-610

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This study investigates the presence of gender bias in students‘ hiring evaluations within STEM fields using a survey-based experimental design with systematically varied resumes. Students were randomly assigned to evaluate one of four fictional CVs, differing by candidate gender and qualification strength. Participants rated the applicants on competence, hireability, salary recommendation, and willingness to offer professional support. The results reveal no consistent bias in favor of male candidates; however, strong male applicants received higher salary suggestions, while female candidates were more likely to be offered professional support. These patterns are primarily driven by interactions between candidate gender and resume strength. The effects are most pronounced among participants from Eastern Europe and older participants, suggesting a role of social background in shaping perceptions. The findings highlight how implicit biases may form prior to labor market entry and underscore the need for early educational interventions to promote equitable hiring perceptions in STEM.

Keywords: gender bias; hiring discrimination; survey experiment; resume evaluation.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v11i3pp598-610

The Influence of Perceived Undervaluation on the Duration of Share Repurchase Programmes

Lars Kiehne, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 11(3), 2026, 611-641

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This thesis examines whether perceived undervaluation—measured using eight market-based proxies—leads, ceteris paribus, to shorter share repurchase programme announcements and a higher probability of tender offers over open market repurchases. Using ordinary least squares and logistic regressions on 329 German repurchase announcements from 2016 to 2025, the analysis finds no significant link between perceived undervaluation and either programme duration or repurchase method. Instead, repurchase size and trading volume emerge as the key drivers of programme design. These results suggest that, in Germany, repurchase structures are driven more by executional factors than by perceived undervaluation. The findings contribute to the literature on corporate payout policy by providing new evidence on the informational content of repurchase programme characteristics in a European market setting.

Keywords: share repurchases; undervaluation; open market repurchases; tender offers.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v11i3pp611-641

Firm-wide Effects of Earnings Stripping Rules

Christoph Rehrl, Katholische Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt (Masterarbeit)
Junior Management Science 11(3), 2026, 642-670

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This paper estimates the impact of the earnings stripping rule reform by the ATAD Directive on the firm-wide external debt ratio of large multinational firms in the European Union in 2019. The analysis is based on the consolidated financial statements of STOXX Europe 600 constituents in 12 different Member States between 2014 and 2022. Firms that were not subject to a limitation of total interest expenses before the reform reduced their external debt ratio by 2.1 percentage points on average, which indicates an 8.3 percent decrease based on the pre-reform average external debt ratio of treated firms. The effect is lower at 1.3 percentage points but equally significant upon variations in the control group. The estimation results indicate that firms restricted in only internal interest expenses before the reform, firms in sink tax havens, and firms in industries with naturally higher net-interest-to-EBITDA ratios were particularly strongly affected by the reform. The findings suggest that the earnings stripping rule reform in the European Union significantly affected the external tax-related debt bias of large multinational firms

Keywords: capital structure; earnings stripping rule; interest limitation; tax avoidance.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v11i3pp642-670

The Impact of Various Expert Groups on German Income Tax Legislation: An Analysis of Written Statements

Thomas Zimmermann, Paderborn University (Master Thesis)
Junior Management Science 11(3), 2026, 671-691

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Despite the pivotal role of tax legislation for the economy and society, empirical research on how interest groups influence German tax legislation remains scarce. This study addresses this gap by examining international corporate tax policy. Based on 94 statements from eleven legislative procedures (2013 – 2023), it analyzes the factors determining whether demands from various interest groups during expert hearings in the Finance Committee are adopted into final legislation. Methodologically, the paper combines qualitative content analysis with a quantitative probit regression. While descriptive data and initial analyses suggest varying success rates among expert groups, these differences disappear when controlling for the specific direction of the proposed changes. No significant group influence remains. The findings suggest that in the later stages of the legislative process, lawmakers select external expertise primarily based on substantive, technical criteria rather than systematically favoring specific actors. Thus, the study contributes to the political economy of taxation by highlighting the importance of technical content over pure actor power.

Keywords: lobbyism; tax legislation; interest groups; written statements; influence.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5282/jums/v11i3pp671-691