Digital buying behavior: The role of regulatory fit and self-construal in online luxury goods purchase intentions

Drawing on regulatory focus theory, this study examines how consumers’ promotion and prevention focus influences luxury purchase intentions in an online domain. The research further investigates the interactive effects of regulatory focus, goal orientation, and self-construal through four studies. Study 1 shows that promotion-focused versus prevention-focused consumers have a greater tendency to purchase luxury goods online and in-store. Contrary to extant research regarding the compatibility between message frame and consumers’ regulatory focus, using varying manipulations, Studies 2 and 3 find the primacy of prevention-framed messages in influencing online luxury purchase intentions for promotion- and prevention-focused consumers. Further, unlike prior studies, Study 4 shows no significant interaction effect between regulatory focus, goal orientation, and self-construal and adds a possible boundary condition by demonstrating how regulatory focus and self-construal effects differ for luxury purchase online. Overall, the studies offer important contributions to theory and practice relating to luxury consumption in cyberspace.     

“排”不掉的“他”：企业赞助溢出效应研究

通过排他条款保护赞助权益是赞助商最为关注的问题,但是排他条款难以实现赞助商独占赞助权益却是无法回避的现实问题。文章在赞助研究领域引入溢出效应理论,研究企业赞助对竞争品牌溢出效应的形成机制。结果表明,品牌进行赞助时,可能产生溢出效应,改变消费者对竞争品牌的评价;同时,与事件质量较低时相比,事件质量较高时,赞助事件质量对竞争品牌的溢出效应更大;另外,与赞助企业代表性较高时相比,赞助企业代表性较低时,赞助事件质量对竞争品牌产生的溢出效应影响更大。文章从溢出效应的角度拓展了企业赞助理论,回答了排他条款难以“排他”的理论机理,对企业开展赞助营销实践具有理论借鉴。     

Does investor recognition matter for asset pricing?

In a world of market imperfections, what matters for asset prices differs from theory predictions based on perfect markets and information. In this paper, using a market setting where information costs are more pronounced, I show that the level of investor recognition/awareness matters for asset prices as predicted by Merton (1987). Using a novel dataset, I study the price effects of inclusions to and exclusions from a benchmark equity index in the context of emerging market assets. While testing for a number of existing hypotheses, I am able to document evidence for the ‘investor recognition’ hypothesis, using event study methodology. Furthermore, by making use of analysts' recommendations data, I show that there is a significant increase in coverage for the included stocks. This is also significantly related to the observed price change.     

Transition,regulation and trade in services

Market-oriented reforms launched at the beginning of the 1990s have had a profound impact on the restructuring of the service sector in transition economies. Reforms have introduced complex regulatory changes that substantially diminished the barriers to competition in services, thereby improving the supply of services. The article explores the patterns and effects of regulatory changes in the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEECs) on services exports in the period 1993–2004. The econometric analysis finds a statistically significant impact of the regulatory reforms on service exports. The effects are more significant for the period 1999–2004 and seem to suggest that efficient implementation of reforms during the accession process had beneficial consequences also for service exports. However, there is enough room for the CEECs to dismantle further the obstacles to services provision and to improve the governance of the service markets within the internal market for services.     

一损俱损：食品安全、企业的社会责任及市场反应--以“塑化剂”事件为例

本文以酒鬼酒“塑化剂”事件为案例,运用事件研究和双重差分的方法,研究该食品安全事件对酒鬼酒及白酒行业带来的影响。结果表明：事件日后20天内酒鬼酒的累计异常收益平均下降了30％,证券市场发挥了“用脚投票”的功能,对肇事企业起到惩罚作用;此外,酒鬼酒“塑化剂”事件对整个白酒行业带来的“传染效应”大于“竞争效应”,平均意义上“塑化剂”事件使得白酒类企业的累计异常收益下降了6％,说明食品安全问题会带来一损俱损现象。     

Sovereign credit ratings, emerging market risk and financial market volatility

This article presents event studies that find a significant effect on dollar bond yield spreads when rating agencies put emerging-market sovereign bonds on review with negative outlook. The finding has two conditional implications. If rating agencies can be turned from late into early warning signals, they would have the potential to dampen boom-bust cycles in emerging-market flows. If rating agencies cannot improve on their reactive approach witnessed in the run-up and aftermath of recent currency crises, regulation and guidelines stipulating a certain rating status for institutional investment will continue to intensify boom-bust cycles. The paper concludes with regulatory suggestions for both outcomes.     

Telecommunications Services in Canada: The Changing Policy and Regulatory Context

This study assesses the changing policy and regulatory context for telecommunications services and their provision and use in Canada. A number of recent developments, including a I987 Department of Communications policy statement, recent CRTC regulatory decisions, changes in the role of Telesat Canada and Teleglobe Canada, as well as implementation of the Canada-US FXA, are treated. Prospective developments in several other areas such as another attempt to introduce longdistance competition in Canada and the implications of the Uruguay Round services trade negotiations are also examined. The theme throughout is that telecommunications services, both domestic and international, are being provided and used within an increasingly open and competitive environment.     

Private Regulatory Fragmentation as Public Policy: Governing Canada’s Mining Industry

This paper addresses recent calls to study the role of the state in private regulation. Integrating current scholarship on the state as a catalyst of private regulatory regimes with prior literature on regulatory failure and self-regulation, it identifies and problematizes unsettled assumptions used as a starting point by this growing body of research. The case study traces the evolution of public debates and the interaction of different regulatory initiatives dealing with corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues in Canada’s mining industry. Findings reveal the conditions under which the state is more likely to encourage firm-level, fragmented initiatives than facilitate and promote industry-wide regulatory strengthening and consolidation. I discuss the need for greater analytical precision regarding the variation in regulatory policy preferences across time and branches of government and the interaction between public and private regulatory initiatives. The conclusion outlines suggested areas for future research as well as the likely outcome of Canada’s current CSR policy framework.     

The effect of prospective payment under DRGs on the market value of hospitals

This article investigates the effect of a change in Medicare payment regulations on for-profit hospital market values. A theoretical argument on the effects of this regulatory event is presented in which hospital managers are concerned about firm wealth but also value prestige, provider perceptions of quality, and perhaps other prerequisites. In this case, DRGs will induce hospitals to seek higher wealth because they increase the opportunity cost of nonpecuniary benefits. The issue is pursued empirically by estimating the market response to DRG legislation using seemingly unrelated regressions.     

Is There a Gold Social Seal? The Financial Effects of Additions to and Deletions from Social Stock Indices

This study investigates the financial effects of additions to and deletions from the most well-known social stock index: the MSCI KLD 400. Our study makes use of the unique setting that index reconstitution provides and allows us to bypass possible issues of endogeneity that commonly plague empirical studies of the link between corporate social and financial performance. By examining not only short-term returns but also trading activity, earnings per share, and long-term performance of stocks that are involved in these events, we bring forward evidence of a ‘social index effect’ where unethical transgressions are penalized more heavily than responsibility is rewarded. We find that the addition of a stock to the index does not lead to material changes in its market price, whereas deletions are accompanied by negative cumulative abnormal returns. Trading volumes for deleted stocks are significantly increased on the event date, while the operational performances of the respective firms deteriorate after their deletion from the social index.     

Using Event Studies to Assess the Impact of Unexpected Events

The quantitative assessment of the financial impact of unexpected events is the realm of the “event study.” We examine how CEOs, boards, and public policymakers can utilize event studies to inform and improve their decision making. The breadth of application of event studies is surprisingly broad and ranges from situations involving the death of a CEO to emergency product recalls. We present illustrative event studies for two Steve Jobs-related announcements concerning his health in order to demonstrate both the potential and limitations of the technique.     

Effects of Strategic Exiting from Sponsorship after Negative Event Publicity

Research on the effects of event sponsorship has focused mainly on the consequences for brand equity of the association between a sponsor and a sponsored event. However, the effects of management's decision to exit from a sponsorship have received little empirical consideration. The studies reported here were carried out to fill this gap by systematically examining (a) the impact of a sponsor's corporate reputation on consumer responses to the strategic exit from a controversial sponsorship, and (b) the role that perceived trust in the decision plays in determining the outcomes. The results of two studies emphasize that strategic exiting from a controversial sponsorship (i.e., possible doping scandals at the event) can have positive consequences for the sponsor's image when the decision is trusted, but detrimental consequences when the exiting is attributed to overly self‐serving reasons. Trust in sponsorship withdrawal is elicited when the sponsor is perceived as having a good character with respect to meeting societal obligations, or when communication efforts are made salient that create trust in the withdrawal decision by a firm with a bad character.     

Asymmetric Effects of Regulatory Focus on Expected Desirability and Feasibility of Embracing Self‐Service Technologies

This research draws on regulatory focus theory to examine the asymmetric effects of regulatory focus (promotion focus versus prevention focus) on expected desirability and feasibility of using self‐service technologies (SSTs) in a retail setting. To study consumers’ SST trial intention from the perspective of regulatory focus theory, this research first integrates the attributes of SSTs explored in prior studies into a desirability–feasibility framework. The proposed asymmetric effects of regulatory focus (promotion focus versus prevention focus) lie in both scope (on desirability, feasibility, versus both desirability and feasibility) and valence (positive versus negative): The promotion focus facilitates consumers to recognize both desirability (consumption value) and feasibility of using SSTs, whereas the prevention focus inhibits consumers from understanding the feasibility‐related attributes of SSTs. In addition, it is proposed that the promotion focus contributes to the easement of consumers’ technology anxiety, whereas the prevention focus has a reverse effect. Furthermore, expected desirability (consumption value) and feasibility both positively influence consumers’ intention to adopt SSTs, whereas technology anxiety negatively affects consumers’ trial intention. Structural equation modeling is used to test the overall model, and the results support the hypotheses in general.     

Changes in the Nikkei 500: New Evidence for Downward Sloping Demand Curves for Stocks

This study investigates the price and trading volume effects of changes in the Nikkei 500. On average, prices increase (decrease) significantly for stocks added (deleted) with no significant post‐event reversals. Trading volume, on average, increases significantly for both stocks added and deleted in the short run. In the long run, however, trading volume falls (rises) significantly for stocks added (deleted), contrary to previous findings. These results support the hypothesis of downward sloping demand curves for stocks and refute three competing hypotheses. Finally, the Nikkei 500 changes cause considerably less pronounced price changes than do the S&\amp;P 500 changes.     

Causal mechanisms of COVID-19 disruptive effects on liability of foreignness and the emergence of new firm-specific advantages

There is the need for comprehensive research on the disruptive effects of COVID-19 on international business (IB) in preparation for future disruption. However, we know little about the causal mechanisms of the phenomenon which impacted IB. Based on a case study of a Japanese automotive firm in Russia, we investigate how firms tackle institutional entrepreneurship with firm-specific advantages to overcome the disruptive effects. Consequently, the pandemic increased institutional costs due to greater uncertainty in Russian regulatory institutions. To manage this, the firm developed new firm-specific advantages to deal with the increasing uncertainty of regulative institutions. The firm united with other firms to motivate public officials to advocate for semi-official debates. Our study contributes to extending intersecting studies on the liability of foreignness and firm-specific advantages through the lens of institutional entrepreneurship. We propose a holistic conceptual process model of the causal mechanisms and a novel construct for new firm-specific advantages.     

The impact of increases in subsidiary autonomy and network relationships on performance

This paper uses network approaches to subsidiary theory to investigate the performance impacts of interactions among the factors of autonomy, intra-organizational network relationships, and inter-organizational network relationships. The paper offers an analysis of both direct and indirect interactions among these factors. This study develops and extends existing research that uses network-based approaches in studies of subsidiary performance by considering the roles of autonomy and network relationships. In addition, the study examines changes in terms of increases in the interactions between the main factors rather than the levels of these factors. The examination of the interactions between increases in autonomy and networks and the subsequent impact of this change on performance contributes to a better understanding of subsidiary evolution. The results, which are based on data gathered from a survey of 350 foreign-owned subsidiaries in the UK, Germany, and Denmark, reveal complex interactions between increases in autonomy and network relationships, and the subsequent impact of these changes on performance. The results also highlight the central role of inter-organizational network relationships in the interaction between the factors, which produce significant and positive effects.     

Linking corporate reputation and shareholder value using the publication of reputation rankings

Good corporate reputation is one of the most valuable assets and causes a multitude of favorable impacts within different stakeholder groups. As a consequence, a lot of studies analyze the relationship between corporate reputation and financial performance. However, most of them raise the question of causation due to their methodology. In order to isolate the causal impact of corporate reputation on financial performance, some authors conduct event studies, but without remarkable success. Therefore, this study provides initially a comprehensive theoretical background for why reputation should affect financial performance. According to the resulting hypotheses, an event study is conducted to analyze the impact of the publication of reputation rankings by the German Manager Magazin on share prices. As hypothesized, positive and negative announcement effects exist regarding upgraded or downgraded companies respectively. Consequently, investors gain new information from the published rankings (increases or decreases in reputation) to adjust share prices.     

Values Versus Regulations: How Culture Plays Its Role

This study examines the impact of culture on regulation and corruption. Our empirical results suggest that cultural values have significant effects on countries’ regulatory policies, levels of corruption, and economic development. Contrary to the conclusions drawn by others, this study shows no significant relationship between the regulatory policies of countries and their perceived levels of corruption. Thus, evidence of the “public choice view” toward entry regulation derived in related studies seems to be at least attenuated. Dr. Runtian Jing is a Professor and Vice Dean of the School of Management, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China. John L. Graham is Professor of International Business, The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine.     

The effect of IFRS on earnings management in Brazilian non-financial public companies

This article evaluated whether changes in accounting practices brought a reduction in earnings management (EM) in listed Brazilian non-financial companies through discretionary accruals. We developed a model to observe the effect of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on firms' EM as well as the restrictive effects of the audit, the corporate governance and the regulatory environment. We find that the ones with the most limiting effects is the regulatory environment. We also find that the transition to IFRS had a restrictive effect on EM in Brazil after its complete implementation.     

Regulatory fit effects of gender and marketing message content

Many US adults do not get enough daily physical activity. To change behavior, governments and other agencies design marketing messages encouraging more physical activity. A lab experiment draws on Regulatory Focus Theory to examine health communication's persuasive effects on physical activity. This study identifies gender differences in chronic regulatory focus and shows that congruence between message regulatory focus and the message recipient's gender is effective, particularly for males. Results also show that emotions mediate regulatory fit effects on intentions. Further, chronic regulatory focus mediates these effects on emotions. Results inform implications for theory as well as for practitioners who design health-marketing messages.