The conditional performance of US mutual funds over different market regimes: do different types of ethical screens matter?

We investigate the performance of US mutual funds that employ different ethical criteria: religious, socially responsible, and irresponsible. Performance is evaluated over different market regimes using a Markov-switching conditional CAPM approach that endogenously defines different states of the market. This model is also extended to a multifactor context. The results show that estimates of performance vary across different market regimes. The Vice Fund, which invests in unethical firms, outperforms in low-volatility regimes, but underperforms in high-volatility regimes. These results contradict the Vice Fund’s claim that it constitutes a “solid investment during recessionary periods”. Our results show that socially responsible and morally responsible funds exhibit different performance across different market conditions, thereby supporting the use of performance evaluation models that take into account different market regimes. Overall, different types of ethical screens seem to lead to different performance patterns across different market regimes.     

Contagion of Capital Markets in CEE Countries: Evidence from Wavelet Analysis

We employed wavelets technology to investigate how and when contagion occurred on 10 Central and Eastern European financial markets in relation to Western European and US financial markets during 2000–2016 and their different reactions on the background of changes in their regulatory framework. We found that most of Central and Eastern European (CEE) capital markets showed contagion in relation to both Western European and US markets between 2005 and 2009, while Slovakian and Estonian markets showed no contagion. However, during 2010–2016, Croatian market showed de-contagion in relation to Western European market, while Bulgarian, Czech, Hungarian, and Polish markets showed de-contagion in relation to US market, increasing their independence.     

Implementing Big Data Analytics in Small Firms: A Situated Human Practice Approach

This study identifies and addresses an important gap in the nascent literature on big data analytics, using a longitudinal case study to investigate the implementation and application of big data analytics into a small firm specialized in transport logistics. Our research is rooted in Practice Theory, considering the implementation of new technologies in organizations as a result of multiple social negotiations, interpretations, and interactions. Our findings indicate the importance and centrality of human factors in decision-making and operational implementation, technology representing only a means to a clearly specified and collectively assumed objective. Big data analytics adoption and use in the case-study firm represents a gradual process, with each stage justified by the need to solve the problems caused by heavy and unpredictable road traffic. This approach validates the entrepreneurial effectuation model, which defines a firm's strategy as a fragmented but continuous effort to find and implement effective solutions to the market challenges encountered.     

欧洲银行业压力测试分析

文章阐述了欧洲银行业压力测试的方法和结果,并详尽分析了这一测试结果。研究表明,欧洲银行业压力测试覆盖范围广泛且具备代表性,测试结果可能不足以反映欧洲银行的状况,但此次测试大幅提高了欧洲银行业的透明度,降低了市场不确定性,有助于欧洲主权债务危机的进一步缓和。此外,压力测试模型并没有主权违约的假设,反映出欧盟,尤其是欧元区成员国无一可能违约,这也可能大幅舒缓投资者的疑虑。     

模拟法在建设项目进度管理中的应用

通过对项目进度管理和模拟方法理论的交叉性研究,并结合具体的工程项目进行试验,为项目进度管理方法提出了新的思路和借鉴。     

E-banking in transition economies: The case of Romania

Internet banking is one of the newest Internet technology applications, which promises multiple benefits both for the financial institutions and for clients. In the last five years a large number of banks have launched websites, offering online banking services. While the implementation and functioning of these digital systems seem to be relatively smooth in the developed economies, the situation may be different in countries with economies in transition. The present paper investigates and analyses the specific conditions of an economy in transition (Romania), and the appropriate strategies for the implementation and use of e-banking services.     

Timing and selectivity in Portuguese mutual fund performance

We extend the international evidence on timing and selectivity skills of fund managers by applying the Henriksson and Merton [Henriksson, R., Merton, R., 1981. On market timing and investment performance. II. Statistical procedures for evaluating forecasting skills. J. Bus. 54, 513–533] model to Portuguese based mutual funds investing in local, European and International equity.

The results show that managers do not exhibit selectivity and timing abilities, and there is even some evidence of negative timing. Furthermore, we observe a distance effect on stock selection performance, since fund managers that invest locally seem to perform better that those who invest in foreign markets. However, this effect is reverted with respect to market timing skills of fund managers, suggesting that International fund managers are more focused in market timing strategies.