THE IMPACT OF UNEXPECTED EARNINGS AND DIVIDENDS ON ABNORMAL RETURNS TO EQUITY

This paper contributes to the empirical literature which documents the existence of a positive association between unexpected earnings and/or dividend announcements and abnormal returns to equity. The paper addresses some of the methodological limitations evident in the literature. In particular, one methodological difficulty encountered by previous studies is that since earnings and dividend announcements are usually made contemporaneously it is difficult to assess the marginal effect of either announcement on security returns. This problem is dealt with by constructing portfolios of securities which are randomized with respect to unexpected earnings (dividends), but which are systematically ranked on unexpected dividends (earnings). The results indicate that unexpected earnings announcements have a significant marginal impact on abnormal returns. In addition, there is evidence of an impact of unexpected dividends on returns, but it is weaker than unexpected earnings.     

Non-Governmental Organizations, Shareholder Activism, and Socially Responsible Investments: Ethical, Strategic, and Governance Implications

In this article, we document the growing influence of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the realm of socially responsible investing (SRI). Drawing from ethical and economic perspectives on stakeholder management and agency theory, we develop a framework to understand how and when NGOs will be most influential in shaping the ethical and social responsibility orientations of business using the emergence of SRI as the primary influencing vehicle. We find that NGOs have opportunities to influence corporate conduct via direct, indirect, and interactive influences on the investment community, and that the overall influence of NGOs as major actors in socially responsible investment is growing, with attendant consequences for corporate strategy, governance, and social performance.     

Market shares analysis: The Case of French Tourism Demand

This paper examines the magnitudes and determinants of changes in destinations’ shares of a major tourist origin market. The Almost Ideal Demand System model is used to quantify the responsiveness of French tourism demand in Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom to changes in relative prices, exchange rates, tourists’ expenditure budget, and external events. The results indicate that effective price competitiveness is a key variable driving changes in market shares. Policymakers who wish to maintain their shares of the French market should pay particular attention to tourism pricing policies, as well as to improving the tourism offer.     

Do We Have a Redundant Set of Cost–Efficiency Targets in the NHS?

There has been a long history of hospital trust cost–efficiency targets being used in the National Health Service (NHS), but there is little evidence about whether they are effective in reducing hospital unit costs and reducing the dispersion of unit costs between trusts. In 1997, the new Labour government announced that it would replace the purchaser efficiency index with a new approach to securing cost–efficiency gains from trusts. Since 1999/2000 trust efficiency targets have been based on reference costs. This article presents evidence to suggest that efficiency targets have not been effective and that the new reference cost based system of targets is irrelevant. The efficiency gains that trusts seek to achieve are those that emerge from the purchaser funding formula and the contracting process.     

The ‘science’ and ‘practice’ of HRM in small firms

This paper looks at the ‘science’ and ‘practice’ of human resource management in small firms. While there is growing evidence that the practice of human resource management in small firms is characterized by informality, there is less evidence about the science, or explaining why this is the case. We look to writing on strategic human resource management, which has at its heart the resource based view of the firm, for possibilities offered to understanding the science of human resource management in small firms.     

Integration of family-owned business succession with turnover and life cycle models: Development of a successor retention process model

Family-owned businesses face a unique obstacle: continuation of the business through intergenerational transfer. Most family-owned businesses cease when the next generation does not enter the business. This paper develops parallels between failed intergenerational transfer and voluntary turnover. Based on past research, we develop a taxonomy of characteristics hypothesized to influence intergenerational transfer in family-owned businesses. We, then, integrate these dimensions with prominent turnover and socialization theories to propose a successor retention process model. Implications for research are described.     

INTERESTS AND THE PROFESSION-STATE DYNAMIC: EXPLAINING THE EMERGENCE OF THE AUSTRALIAN PUBLIC SECTOR ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD

This paper seeks to understand the professionalisation project of accountants by historically 'following' the organised, contingent interests of state agencies, professional elites, business and community organisations. Drawing upon recent research on the accounting profession that is grounded in the work of Weber, Marx and Foucault, professions are seen as self-interested transnational collec-tives whose internal modes of membership control and external relationships with other organised interests are both structured and subject to continual renegotiation and change. This particular framing of professional associations is illustrated by documenting the emergence of the Australian Public Sector Accounting Standards Board in 1983.     

Heigh Ho,Heigh Ho: flexible labor contracts with real option characteristics

Business Economics - What is the strategic value of flexible labor contracts to workers? To answer this question, we examine workers’ labor supply decisions when choosing among alternative...