The creation of momentum for change through the process of strategic issue diagnosis

This paper presents a model of how decision-makers interpret stategic issues. The model of strategic issue diagnosis identifies three critical events: activation, assessments of urgency and assessments of feasibility. The relationship of each of these interpretive assessments to the creation of momentum for change allows one to predict if and how organizations will respond to a changed decision environment. The paper further links strategic issue diagnosis to organizational responses by highlighting the systematic effect of two contextual variables—the organization's belief structure and its resources—upon the assessments in diagnosis. In this way, the model of issue diagnosis provides a framework for understanding how and why organizations respond differently to strategic issues.     

Family expenditures post-welfare reform in the UK: Are low-income families starting to catch up?

In this paper, we provide evidence on the question of how the UK government's welfare reforms since 1998 have affected the material well-being of children in low-income families. We examine changes in expenditure patterns and ownership of durable goods for low- and higher-income families between the pre-reform period (1995-1998) and the post-reform period (2000-2003), using data from the Family Expenditure Survey. The methodological approach is a difference-in-difference-in-difference analysis that exploits the fact that age variation in the reforms favoured low-income families over higher income ones and families with children age under 11 over those with older children. We find that low-income families with children are catching up to more affluent families, in their expenditures and their possession of durable goods. Moreover, expenditures on child-related items are increasing faster than expenditures on other items.     

The formation of green strategies in Chinese firms: matching corporate environmental responses and individual principles

This study examines how Chinese firms began responding to worsening environmental concerns in the late 1990s. Combining predictions from control theory, escalation of commitment, and goal theory, we seek to explain how leaders' cognitions shape the formation of novel responses to the value‐laden issue of corporate greening. We propose an iterative model that links leaders' principles with corporate actions and test it using survey data gathered from 360 firms. The model views strategy organically, as a set of adaptive goals and behaviors, and highlights the role of systemic and local feedback loops in strategy formation. We find that top executives who champion new strategic initiatives monitor early success or failure, and adjust their efforts to match early performance feedback. Perceptions of satisfactory performance strengthen leaders' efforts towards their initial target, while perceptions of unsatisfactory performance diminish them. This feedback relationship is invariant throughout favorable or unfavorable expectancies of success, contrary to the contingent prediction of control theory. The model also examines how top‐down and bottom‐up strategic initiatives combine to help firms maintain a positive momentum of change when champions' efforts decline in the face of premature failure signals. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bilanzwirksamkeit und -unwirksamkeit von Leasingverhältnissen aus Sicht der empirischen Forschung

This paper presents the development and status of empirical research on the question of on- versus off-balance-sheet accounting for leases and examines the implications for the currently debated reform of IFRS and US-GAAP lease-accounting. Research findings show that off-balance-sheet leases (operating leases) affect the economic situation of lessees substantially, especially in lease-intensive industries. Substitution and capital structure effects, especially during the introduction of partial on-balance-sheet accounting for (finance) leases in the 1970s and 1980s, indicate that lessees prefer the off-balance-sheet treatment. Studies addressing the main users of financial statements also demonstrate a differentiated perception of operating and finance leases. However, these differences seem to vanish if users are more professional. So, markets’ perception is not distorted by operating leases per se and there seems to be no sufficiently compelling case for the current lease accounting reform.     

The Global Financial Architecture: Twenty‐First Century Solutions*

Twentieth‐century global financial architectural solutions are outdated and have been found wanting. They are fundamentally structural solutions and continuing to rely on them would be to run the risk of repeating our mistakes. We must look to twenty‐first century solutions. Solutions created post‐1945 need replacing with networked solutions, reflecting what we see in the Internet and its development. These are not fanciful notions but concepts that have already been successfully modelled, albeit in a relatively narrow sphere. What we need is a mechanism by which global financial standards can be implemented in every jurisdiction around the world. This paper proceeds from the premise that the nexus between investor confidence and financial market stability is a crucial one, and one that a regulatory approach can impact. It discusses the international regulatory environment and the role of key players in the emerging global financial architecture, in particular the International Organization of Securities Commissions ( IOSCO ). It also examines the potential that mutual recognition offers for the trans‐Tasman market.     

[In]visible [in]tangibles: Visual portraits of the business élite

Visual portraits of the business élite are widely disseminated, and form significant sites for communicating messages regarding leadership and associated intellectual, symbolic and social intangibles, yet have been neglected in accounting research. At the same time, accounting for intangibles is recognised to be inadequate. This inter-disciplinary article constructs a framework from art theory to interpret portraits of the business élite and their associated [in]visible [in]tangibles. Four sets of rhetorical codes in portraiture are identified: physical, dress, spatial and interpersonal. Illustrative portraits from annual reports and the media are analysed to indicate how [in]visible [in]tangibles are portrayed through visual rhetoric.     

人口统计变量对汽车制造商品牌资产评价影响之研究——以台湾地区为例

品牌资产（Brand Equity，又称品牌权益）的定义十分多元，但晚近的学者对品牌资产的定义已从厂商观点转换成由消费者的角度来观察，本研究也基于此观．占、探讨不同人口统计变量下的消费者、对品牌资产的评价是否有所不同。由于整个中国的地理区域十分广大、人口变量组合十分复杂，故本研究拟先以台湾地区的消费者进行研究。本研究运用因子分析及变异数分析，发现不同的人口统计变量下会对广告知晓因子、品牌意义因子、品牌知名度因子上有不同的认知态度，但对呈现设计因子、自我认知因子方面，并没有差异。最后，讨论了本文的贡献、研究限制、未来建议，以及管理启示。     

Is the audit services market competitive following Arthur Andersen's collapse?

This study investigates whether audit markets remain competitive in the wake of Arthur Andersen's demise and merger with Ernst & Young to create the Big Four. We conduct the study estimating audit fee models using Australian audit market data from both 2000 and 2003 to determine whether there is any evidence of cartel pricing either before, or subsequent to, the merger. In both years, we find evidence of a Big N price premium when estimating an audit fee model across all clients, and when we estimate the model separately across large and small client market segments. This evidence is consistent with product differentiation by Big N auditors and competitive markets.