Examining the effects of leadership development on firm performance

The purpose of the current study was to identify the constructs that affect leadership development in an organization and investigate the impact of leadership development on firm performance. Using structural equation modeling, the study showed a positive relationship between differentiation strategies and leadership development. No relationship was found between environmental dynamism and leadership development or organizational size and leadership development. The positive impact of leadership development on firm performance, as measured through financial and market outcomes, was validated.     

Banks’ risk taking,financial innovation and macroeconomic risk

This paper shows how financial innovation in combination with the fall of macroeconomic risk can explain the strong growth of the primary and secondary credit markets in the U.S. economy. We document empirically the fall in macroeconomic risk, the expansion of the prime and secondary credit market and we provide evidence that changes in macroeconomic risk are closely related to the evolution of the prime market. In the theoretical part of the paper we study in a simple portfolio optimization framework the effect of financial innovation and macroeconomic risk on banks’ risk taking. The results of the model show that financial innovation increases bank appetite for risky investment both in the prime and secondary markets and that this effect is stronger in environments with low aggregate macroeconomic risk. In addition the banking system becomes less stable because of the portfolio risk of each individual bank increases.     

The relevance of quantifiable audit qualifications in the valuation of IPOs

How useful are audit qualifications to financial statement users? We analyze a sample of 204 firms that went public at the Athens Stock Exchange over the period 1987–2002. For 149 of these firms, auditors report quantitative estimates of the amount by which assets are overstated and/or liabilities are understated in reported financial statements. We find that underwriters and their affiliated analysts do not incorporate the negative information provided by these qualifications into offer prices and earnings forecasts. Investors, however, appear to efficiently impound the negative implications of the audit qualifications into stock market prices within the first day of trading. The results suggest that underwriters tend to align their interests with the interests of their clients, the old stockholders, at the expense of the new stockholders. They also suggest that the practice of reporting quantifiable qualifications in audit reports is valuable to investors given that they are disclosed by an expert.     

Environmental attitudes of integrated pest management greenhouse producers in Greece

The main objective of this paper is to examine whether personal traits (age, experience, and education level) influence farmers' attitudes toward the environment and to identify the target audience on which future agri-environmental programs should focus. On the basis of an integrated pest management program implemented in the area of central Macedonia, 86 farmers were selected and interviewed with the help of a questionnaire specially designed to assess farmers' behavior in the greenhouse and to examine their attitudes toward the environment. The survey was carried out from July to November 1997. Findings revealed that younger, more-educated, and less-experienced farmers form a group that expresses friendlier attitudes toward the environment. It is suggested that policy makers should primarily focus their attempt on this particular group for more sustainable practices to be more quickly and easily expanded.