Politically connected directors and firm value: Evidence from forced resignations in China

The Central Committee of the Communist Party in China issued the No. 18 Document on Oct 30, 2013 to ban government officials from taking any positions in Chinese firms. Using this decision as a unique natural experiment, we examine the causal relation between political connections and firm valuation. We find that the value of firms with politically connected directors drops significantly upon the announcements of the new rule and the resulting director resignations. Furthermore, the decline in valuation is more pronounced when a firm is in a regulated industry, and when a departing director is of vital importance for building and maintaining political connections. Moreover, non-state-owned enterprises suffer more loss of value than their state-owned peers following the resignations of politically-connected directors. Finally, firms exhibit insignificant value loss when their departing directors are of less political importance in allocating resources. These results suggest that hiring politically connected directors has a positive effect on firm valuation in China.     

When does a service guarantee work? The roles of the popularity of service guarantees and firm reputation

Despite substantial research on service guarantees in the literature, little study has examined how the popularity of service guarantees (SG) in a particular industry affects the effectiveness of SGs. Through four studies, the authors demonstrate an interactive effect between the market-level factor (the popularity of SGs) and the firm-level factor (firm reputation) in affecting consumer's responses to a travel agency's actions in (not) offering an SG. When offering SGs is popular in a given market, consumers perceive a loss from the absence of SGs, and a high-reputation agency will outperform a low-reputation agency in consumer service evaluation when neither agencies offer SGs. However, if both agencies provide guarantees, the SG offered by the high-reputation agency does not necessarily lead to greater service evaluation than that offered by the low-reputation agency. The results reverse when offering SGs is rare in the market, as consumers perceive a gain from the presence of SGs.     

股权性质、环境不确定性与技术资本配置效率

技术转化为资本，资本创造价值已经成为共识，技术资本在不同公司创造价值的作用程度不同，根源是技术资本配置效率问题。选取沪深两市2008-2013年间制造业上市公司为样本，检验了基于不同股权性质的公司环境不确定性对企业技术资本配置效率和价值的影响，研究结果表明：①企业环境不确定性程度越高，技术资本配置效率越低，并且技术资本配置偏离度在国有公司中表现为配置过度，在非国有公司表现为配置不足；②在股权性质为国有的公司中，由环境不确定性引发的技术资本配置偏离将降低企业价值，在非国有控股公司中，由环境不确定性导致的技术资本配置偏离将增加企业价值。     

Corporate risk-taking,firm value and high levels of managerial earnings forecasts

We examine the impact of high levels of managerial earnings forecasts, an important form of voluntary disclosure, on corporate risk-taking and firm value. Theory and anecdotal evidence suggest that a policy of high disclosure may reduce managers' willingness to invest in higher-risk, higher-return projects. We first verify, as in prior research, that corporate risk-taking is associated with higher future firm value. We then document a negative relation between firms with high levels of forecasting and corporate risk-taking. Finally, we provide evidence suggesting that high levels of managerial earnings forecasts reduce the positive association between corporate risk-taking and future firm value. Our results are robust to alternative measures of corporate risk-taking and future firm value, and alternative definitions of high levels of managerial earnings forecasts. Our results may be of importance to varying interests as they highlight the potential for high levels of earnings forecasts to inhibit corporate risk-taking and lower firm value.     

对国有企业党组织参与企业重大决策的认识和思考

随着以现代企业制度建设为主要途径的国企改革不断深入,国有企业党建工作的任务、环境、工作对象、党组织和党员自身都发生了深刻变化。本文就党组织参与国有企业重大决策问题展开论述,以进一步强调党组织在企业中的政治核心作用,为提升国企党建科学化水平奠定理论基础。     

Prioritising alternatives for sustainable end-of-life vehicle disassembly in China using AHP methodology

The projection on Chinese increasing end-of-life vehicle (ELV) volumes indicates that the volume in 2020 will be about threefold that in 2015. The issue of scrapping vehicle upsurge relative to capacity crunches and environmental impacts perplexes Chinese dismantlers and it is intractable and urgent to choose an appropriate dismantling mode. The purpose of this study is to prioritise four potential dismantling modes and provide decision-making reference for dismantlers with a view to such criteria as environmentally sustainable considering constraints involving economy, technique, ecology and flexibility over changing condition. The conducted evaluation by the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) methodology takes sensitive and problematic aspects into account through questionnaires. The whole evaluation process supported by expert preferences, provides a simple and intuitive knowledge to construct arguments for ELV decision-making process. Results show that disassembly line involves the highest global weight of 0.363 and is concluded to be the best compromised ecological alternative.     

餐饮业网络团购定价研究——以某寿司餐厅为例

文章以广州某寿司餐厅为例,经过实地调研和问卷调查,获得消费者对于该类商品的消费期望,识别影响消费者选择餐饮团购的关键因素,再根据区分需求定价法对团购定价进行建模计算,以期对商家网络团购定价决策做出有益尝试。     

Improving Assessments of Gender Bargaining Power: A Case Study from Bangladesh

Gender bargaining power has entered into mainstream economic theory and public policy. However, common empirical measures are only loosely related to the theoretical concept, and research has not produced consistent results regarding the causal chains underlying women’s empowerment. This study critically examines accepted measures of bargaining power, arguing that participation in specific household decisions is not directly associated with the theoretical concept of bargaining power. The study analyzes the relationship between measures of participation in household decisions and individual and household characteristics thought to contribute to bargaining power. Using Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) data on Bangladesh over the period 1999–2011, the study finds that despite the loose relationship of the survey questions to the theoretical construct bargaining power, the decision-making questions provide relatively consistent and theoretically supported measures of this unobservable characteristic. Simple changes in using the measures would contribute to more robust and consistent findings.     

Adam Smith on lotteries: an interpretation and formal restatement

The paper concerns a neglected aspect of the Wealth of Nations (with the notable exception of D. Levy 1999 Levy, D. M. 1999. “Adam Smith’s Katallactic Model of Gambling: Approbation from the Spectator.” Journal of the History of Economic Thought 21 (1): 81–91. doi:10.1017/S1053837200002868.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), dealing directly with decision under risk. In a few pages from book I, chapter 10, Adam Smith explicitly named “lotteries” various objects of choice (possible occupations, or investment opportunities, for instance) and provided an analysis which standard expected utility glasses would hardly fit. Taking this into account allows a better understanding of the part played by typical characters like the “projector” or the “sober man”, in such matters as Smith’s conception of entrepreneurship or of the credit market. The use of some modern concepts in decision analysis (inverse stochastic dominance, rank dependent utility, prudence toward risk), is a means to show the existence, in Smith’s work, of an original theory from decision under risk, where his analysis of lotteries in the Wealth of Nations is consistent with statements from his moral philosophy on asymmetric sensitivity to gains and losses and to the regulating part played by the impartial spectator.     

Using methods of Multi-Criteria Decision Making to provide decision support concerning local bioenergy projects

The public sector plays an important role in the German “Energiewende”. Besides energy management in municipal properties the local government can also support the switch to renewable energy sources through a change in energy supply structures within in their region. Methods of Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) from Operations Research are helpful regarding that challenge, as they are able to assess the sustainability of local energy concepts, since they not only offer stakeholders the opportunity to participate, but also consider multiple conflicting criteria. In that way, the acceptance of local energy projects and the participation of stakeholders in the decision process are supported. The case study presented in this paper illustrates the results of a MCDM process employed to identify a sustainable bioenergy concept in a rural village in Lower Saxony, Germany. Our analysis revealed not only the opportunities and challenges associated with executing an MCDM process to support the realization of local bioenergy projects, but also discusses potential limitations of the methods.