Do goodwill impairments affect audit opinions? Evidence from China

There has been a steady growth of goodwill impairments in the Chinese stock market since the adoption of the impairment approach in accounting. The influence of goodwill impairments on a firm’s financial position and profitability give reason to doubt its current and future performance. We examine whether auditors, as a crucial external monitor, identify the information risks of goodwill impairments and express their concerns about financial reporting quality in their audit opinions. Using a sample of firms listed on China’s A-share market from 2007 to 2017, we test the association between goodwill impairments and the type of audit opinion received in the same financial period. Our findings are as follows. First, the probability of receiving a modified opinion increases with the amount of goodwill impairments. Second, the positive association between goodwill impairments and modified audit opinions is driven primarily by earnings management risks. Third, this positive association is more salient when auditors are industry experts and there is no auditor–client mismatch. Fourth, auditors are more sensitive to the amount of goodwill impairments than to their mere existence. Overall, we document that auditors perceive goodwill impairments as a signal of information risks and communicate their concerns to investors to avoid litigation.     

The cross‐cultural study of LMX and individual employee voice: The moderating role of conflict avoidance

This article examines the role of national culture, measured by conflict avoidance, on the relationship between leader–member exchange (LMX) and individual employee voice. Using data collected from automotive industry employees in the United States and Korea, the findings show that conflict avoidance is negatively related to employee voice and also moderates the relationship between LMX and employee voice in the Korean sample. In particular, the relationship between LMX and voice becomes less positive when conflict avoidance is high. On the other hand, conflict avoidance does not have a direct effect on employee voice as well as an interactive effect with LMX on employee voice in the U.S. sample. This study, therefore, highlights the importance of the national culture in the comparative study of employee voice.     

The role of assessment centers in job satisfaction and organizational commitment: a case of the Korean government

While many studies have shown how assessment centers affect employees’ career success or job performance, these studies do not demonstrate how employees’ attitudes are affected by their perception of assessment centers. This study aims to investigate the influence of employees’ perception of assessment centers on their job satisfaction and organizational commitment, which are the key elements in predicting working behaviors, such as job performance, job involvement, and turnover intentions. To analyze the nature of the influence, 306 employees who had been evaluated by an assessment center in the Korean Rural Development Administration (KRDA) were surveyed. Regression analysis revealed that although there is no influence on their organizational commitment, employees with a positive perception of assessment centers experience higher levels of job satisfaction (p < .01). These results suggest that the positive perception of assessment centers affects the general feeling of organizational members about their work even though it does not affect their emotional attachment to the organization or dedication to organizational values. Thus, assessment centers can be used as a tool not only to select capable candidates but also to yield positive effects on organizational members’ job attitudes.     

Are You a Chocolate Lover? An Investigation of the Repurchase Behavior of Chocolate Consumers

This study aimed to understand the factors affecting repurchase behavior of chocolate brands and, consequently, customer retention and acquisition. The study adopted a qualitative, inductive approach using in-depth interviews with 31 Australian consumers. The factors identified in the extant literature as antecedents of customers’ repurchase intention in the chocolate industry, including brand recognition, sales promotion, product price value, variety, taste, texture, size, packaging, and customer satisfaction, were confirmed. The results also indicated that functional value, product selection value, self-gratification value, socialization value, and transactional value were also considered during the consumer decision-making process. Implications for practitioners are provided.     

归因偏差视角下旅游行为失范成因研究

游客旅游行为失范时有发生,威胁着旅游资源与环境安全。心理归因影响个体行为逻辑,归因偏差是解释心理归因的经典理论。本文引入归因偏差理论,采用实证方法探究旅游行为失范背后的归因偏差因素,为减少旅游行为失范提供心理学依据。研究发现,归因偏差能够引致旅游者心理认知偏差,后者直接引发和助推旅游行为失范。心理环境和群体心理对引致旅游者的心理认知偏差和行为失范具有显著作用,归因偏差成为旅游者弱化旅游行为失范结果的心理屏障,可激发或促进旅游行为失范的发生或持续。研究认为旅游地可从完善硬件监控、控制游客流量、强化失范行为负面教育、发挥在场监督作用等方式削弱归因偏差效应。     

International trade of GMO-related agricultural products

This paper examines the international trade of a variety of genetically modified (GM) food products over a 27-year period (1984–2011) with data from the United Nations using the tools of social network analysis. The results indicate that each of the different crops have a distinctive pattern of trade that has changed over time due to a number of different factors. Also, trade in agricultural commodities became more diversified over time, dominated less by the United States and other nations central in the trade networks and trade in the individual GM crops was stable over time. Countries maintained their trading partners for specific crops, despite the adoption of the genetically modified varieties. The economic implications of these results are discussed for specific countries.     

Policy Uncertainty and the Dual Role of Corporate Political Strategies

Firms use active political strategies not only to mitigate uncertainty emanating from legislative activity, but also to enhance their growth opportunities. We find that a firm's systematic risk (beta) can be hedged away by employing various political strategies involving the presence of former politicians on corporate boards of directors, contributions to political campaigns, and corporate lobbying activities. The hedging effect is greater when firms operate in more uncertain industries. In addition, active political strategies are associated with greater firm heterogeneity and make real options more value relevant as potential drivers of competitive advantages in uncertain environments.