Globalizations and bank performance in China

The paper provides for the first time empirical evidence on the impact of economic globalization on the performance of banks operating in the Chinese banking sector. The empirical findings from this study suggest that the well capitalized banks tend to be more profitable, while expense preference behavior exerts negative impact on bank profitability in China. By examining different components of economic globalization, we find that greater economic integration via higher trade flows, cultural proximity, and greater political globalization have significant and positive influence on bank profitability levels. The impacts of personal contacts and information flows seem to work in favour of the Chinese banks. During the period under study, the empirical findings seem to suggest that liberalization (restrictions) of the capital account exerts positive (negative) influence on the profitability of banks operating in the Chinese banking sector.     

Social Media and Purchasing Behavior: A Study of the Mediating Effect of Customer Relationships

Overwhelmed by the use of social media in augmenting human interactions, researchers have developed special interest in understanding the use of social media in developing strong and customized relationships with customers. In line with this, the current study aims to explore the impact of social media on purchasing behavior with mediating effect of customer relationship. The findings indicate that majority of the respondents use social media for purchasing purpose and there is a positive relation between social media and customer relationship, as well as social media and purchasing behavior, with customer relationships fully mediating and enhancing the relationship between social media and purchasing behavior. It has been also found that the majority of the respondents use social media for purchasing purposes. This study offers new insights into the conceptual development and understanding of social media in enhancing customer relationships and affecting purchasing behavior. The study acts as a strong support and aid towards developing and managing global customer relationships through the use of social media.     

The value relevance of major media advertising expenditures: Some U.K. evidence

This study examines whether ACNielsen MEAL major media advertising expenditure measures, that are publicly available at a cost, have value relevance. Our results suggest that these advertising-expenditure measures are positively associated with market value. We also find little difference in the value relevance of these expenditures among different sizes of firms. Value relevance is found to be present only for nonmanufacturing firms. This suggests that the costly information provided by ACNielsen MEAL surveys may be potentially useful to market participants in valuing firms, at least for nonmanufacturing firms.     

Measurement of cost inefficiency with safety first measure of risk

The objectives of this paper are to incorporate a measure of risk aversion in the translog frontier cost function to estimate cost inefficiency. Risk-averse behaviour of farmers is hypothesised to reduce efficiency by leading to a situation in which the marginal value product of an input is less than price. In developing agriculture, farmers are aware of their subsistence needs and seek to minimize the probability of their incomes falling below a disaster level of income. Using such a safety first principle, a measure of risk-taking is developed and explained by socio-economic characteristics. This measure is used in the translog cost function as a fixed input and, using the frontier approach (with half normal distribution of inefficiency disturbance), a measure of cost inefficiency is obtained. This is related to socio-economic characteristics such as education, assets and holding size. A survey data of 436 farmers for the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan is used to reach policy conclusions for reducing cost inefficiency.     

Does the currency regime shape unhedged currency exposure?

This paper examines how unhedged currency exposure of firms varies with changes in currency flexibility. A sequence of four time periods with alternating high and low currency volatility in India provides a natural experiment in which changes in currency exposure of a panel of firms is measured, and the moral hazard versus incomplete markets hypotheses tested. We find that firms carried higher currency exposure in periods when the currency was less flexible. Our results support the moral hazard hypothesis: that low currency flexibility encourages firms to hold unhedged exposure in response to implicit government guarantees.     

Regret and nonredemption of daily deals: Individual differences and contextual influences

The growth of online daily deal price promotions and the resulting consumer nonredemption of daily deal coupons is worthy of understanding from a psychological lens of nonconsumption. Whereas there is an emerging literature on daily deals and established literature on barriers to redemption, there exists a gap in where this scholarship intersects. This study provides a conceptual model explaining why consumers purchase daily deal coupons and do not redeem them. We explain consumers’ reasons for buying a daily deal upfront along with their reasons for not using it from theoretical lenses of reasons theory and social motivations theory. On testing the model empirically with qualitative and deepening insight via quantitative methods, the findings reveal that reasons for purchasing daily deals are rooted in individual consumer-level factors (i.e., price-consciousness, buying impulsiveness, and susceptibility to interpersonal normative influence). Further, reasons for nonredemption are explained by contextual elements of the daily deal (i.e., offer distinctiveness, the total number of daily deals sold, restrictions on using the deal, and low discount size). Our findings suggest that post-purchase regret ultimately explains a key reason deals go unused. Marketing implications are offered in the areas of characteristics of daily deal offers.     

Testing liquidity constraints in 10 Asian developing countries: an error-correction model approach

An error-correction model is used to estimate the fraction of consumers who are liquidity-constrained in 10 Asian developing countries. Our estimates of the fraction of consumers who are liquidity-constrained range between 0.25 and 0.98. We further investigate whether financial liberalization has resulted in the reduction of liquidity constraints in these countries. However, the results find support for this only in the cases of South Korea, Sri Lanka and Taiwan.     

Accreditation of engineering programs: an evaluation of current practices in Malaysia

The curriculum for undergraduate engineering courses in Malaysia is becoming increasingly structured, following the global trend for quality assurance in engineering education, through accreditation schemes. Generally, the accreditation criteria call for the graduates from engineering programs to demonstrate a range of skills, from technical problem solving to soft skills and an aptitude for lifelong learning. In order to comply with these criteria, accreditation schemes are adopted as a quality assurance measure. This paper shall introduce the characteristics of the engineering accreditation scheme in Malaysia. The impact of the accreditation scheme on the quality of these engineering programs shall be evaluated. Data collection is in the form of benchmarking and questionnaires. The evaluation criteria shall be in terms of benefits to the institution, academic faculty, students, and the challenges encountered. A discussion on the evaluation shall include the supposed dichotomies which arise from this accreditation process, namely the compromise between research versus teaching; and the value of engineering knowledge whether as an academic pursuit or catering to industry’s needs. Ultimately, this paper shall address a fundamental question related to undergraduate teaching in engineering: whether accreditation is a necessary prerequisite in maintaining high standards in engineering programs in Malaysia.