Information Asymmetry and Quarterly Disclosure Decisions by Firms: Evidence From the Tokyo Stock Exchange

This study investigates whether the new quarterly disclosure reporting requirement issued by the Tokyo Stock Exchange was related to the reduction of the degree of private information‐based trade and the liquidity of listed stocks in Japan, or as a reverse causality, helped dichotomize good firms and bad firms as a separating signaling equilibrium. We use the probability of asymmetric information‐based trade (Adjusted PIN) as a measure of information asymmetry and the probability of symmetric order‐flow shock (PSOS) as a measure of market illiquidity. We use a sample of public firms from 2002 to 2007 that chose to either disclose or not disclose quarterly financial reports. We find that the disclosing firms had lower information asymmetry (Adjusted PIN), lower symmetric order‐flow shocks (PSOS), and lower private information‐based trade (PIN). When we conduct further difference‐in‐differences tests, we find that the firms with lower information asymmetry and higher liquidity had a higher tendency to disclose their financial statements and vice versa. Thus, the new disclosure requirement did not necessarily improve the information asymmetry and liquidity of firms, but instead helped good and bad firms form a case for a separating signaling equilibrium.     

Ethics and Disclosure: A Study of the Financial Performance of Firms in the Seasoned Equity Offerings Market

In this article, we examine the association between ethics and disclosure and the impact of this association on the long-term, post-issue performance of seasoned equity offerings (SEOs). We argue that firms with extensive disclosure are less likely to face information problems, and more likely to lead to an active shareholder monitoring, and therefore, engage in fewer unethical activities, such as aggressive earnings manipulation, and have better long-term, post-issue performance. Consistent with these predictions, this study presents evidence that disclosure is negatively related to unethical earnings manipulation and positively associated with long-term, post-issue performance. In particular, we find that long-term, post-issue SEO underperformance is significantly less for firms with extensive disclosure and conservative earnings management than firms with less disclosure and aggressive earnings management. We interpret this evidence to mean that over the long run, the capital market values ethical financial reporting and corporate efforts to incorporate social responsibility into their decision-making processes, for example, by enhancing information transparency through voluntary disclosure.      

Small Firms and the Strategy of the First Mover

Timing of entry and the decision to be a leader or follower in products or markets is a complex decision and empirical evidence suggests that first movers do not always 'capture' all the potential benefits from being first. Small firms in particular are faced with problems when deciding on whether to be a first or later mover. Their strategies were examined using a sample of 264 firms in chosen industry sectors and specific external and internal factors were found to explain much of the variation in timing of entry strategies by these firms. In particular a composite measure of the technological turbulence that firms faced in their supply chain was seen as a crucial determinant of early entry whilst uncertainty as to general business conditions explained much of the late and non pioneering strategies. Even within this group of small firms, size also played an important role with the smallest companies tending to be the most pioneering     

Disclosure of Downside Risk and Investors' Use of Qualitative Information: Evidence from the IPO Prospectus's Risk Factor Section

I use the context of a company's initial public offering (IPO) of equity securities as a capital‐market setting to empirically study the economic consequences of risk factor disclosures. Using data from Australian IPOs, I examine the relation of textual risk disclosures in the prospectus to initial underpricing. I find that the quantity of disclosures in the risk factor section itself has no significant impact on initial underpricing. However, an increase in the informativeness of risk factor disclosures is associated with lower IPO underpricing. My results suggest that IPOs that provide informative risk factor disclosures have less ex ante uncertainty, in the sense that the disclosures help investors estimate the dispersion of secondary market value. The effect of informative risk factor disclosures on IPO underpricing is more pronounced for IPOs with less prestigious lead underwriters and is mainly driven by younger firms, smaller firms, and firms with poorer operating performance prior to their IPOs. Collectively, my findings suggest that informative disclosures of downside risk are useful for investors to evaluate IPOs.     

Determinants of Bribery in Asian Firms: Evidence from the World Business Environment Survey

While it is widely believed that bribery is ubiquitous among Asian firms, few studies have offered systematic evidence of such activities, and the dynamics of bribery in Asian firms have not been well understood. The research reported here used World Business Environment Survey data to examine some distinct characteristics of bribery in Asian firms and to empirically test 10 hypotheses on determinants of bribery. We find that firm characteristics such as firm size, growth rate, and corporate governance are important determinants of bribery activities at the firm level, and that Asian firms are more likely to bribe when faced with fierce market competition, corrupted court systems, convoluted licensing requirements, nontransparent interpretation of laws and regulations, inefficient government service delivery, and high taxes.     

Exploring Factors Influencing the Use of Enterprise Social Networks in Multinational Professional Service Firms

ABSTRACT

Organizations are increasingly implementing enterprise social networks (ESNs) for improved communication and collaboration, as well as enhanced knowledge sharing and innovation among employees. However, the paradoxical relationship between ESN implementation and the promised benefits has been attributed to employees’ underutilization. Our research focuses on factors influencing employees’ decision to use ESN in their work role and draws on case studies of two multinational professional service firms (PSFs) based in Australia. Qualitative data were collected during ten semi-structured interviews with employees from both organizations, to determine their perceptions of ESN usage and capture the factors that influence their use behavior. The findings illustrate that the likelihood of ESN use is significantly influenced by technological, organizational, social and individual factors. A successful ESN use within an organization involves the nexus between these four factors and recommendations are made, as guidelines for organizational actors about how ESNs usage can be increased.     

An Empirical Investigation of Brand Equity: A Cross-Country Validation Analysis

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this article is to propose and test a model in order to better understand brand equity. The goal of this research is to identify the drivers and determine how they influence brand equity performance in the researched industry in order to develop a more effective brand strategy. Quantitative data collected are used to test a model of brand value in the context of the food industry. The findings of this research provided evidence that the customer-based brand equity model can be applied to the food industry context and be used to guide marketing activities internationally. Brand awareness has a positive influence on brand associations and perceived quality. Brand associations have a positive influence on brand loyalty. Finally, brand loyalty, perceived quality, and brand associations all have a positive effect on brand equity. This study contributes to the scarce international brand equity literature by testing the proposed model using data from a sample of consumers in two European countries.     

Empirical Analysis of Consumer Purchase Behavior: Interaction Between State Dependence and Sensitivity to Marketing-Mix Variables1

People are intent to make similar choices especially in consumer goods markets. To address both explanations of this persistence, i.e. state dependence and heterogeneity in preferences, we use random coefficient logit model based on scanner panel data on juice purchases. The product differentiation of the chosen category allows us to model three dimensions of state dependence on brand, size and flavor characteristics. We provide evidence that the persistence in brand choices is positively correlated with persistence in size and flavor choices, thus the consumer pattern is prone to be inertial or variety seeking in every product characteristics. Simultaneously we show that the more sensitive to price and promotional activities consumers are, the less inertial is their behavior.     

Determinants of the Incidence and Scale of Seed Capital Investments by Venture Capital Firms

Employing both behavioral decision making and agency theories, our study seeks to identify those factors that influence a venture capital (VC) firm’s decision to undertake seed capital investments and, subsequently, the scale of such activity. Using data on the investments made by 2949 VC funds raised worldwide between 1962 and 2002, we find investor age, timing of investment, and fund location to be of importance. In addition, the size of the fund and the existing number of portfolio firms exert opposite influences on the level of seed capital activity of the VC firm. These results suggest that seed activity is a valuable source of market intelligence for leading VC firms seeking proactively to identify and invest in novel technologies.      

基于模糊集定性比较分析的民营企业政治行为有效性研究

随着我国民营经济的不断发展,民营企业不仅在经济领域内扮演着重要的角色,也在社会政治领域发挥了越来越大的作用。通过构建企业政治行为战略框架,并在此基础上应用定性比较分析法进行多案例研究,探讨民营企业规模、政治战略、政治联系和政治影响力之间的相互匹配关系及对企业政治行为有效性的影响。研究不仅从理论上进一步完善和丰富了企业政治行为理论的内容,而且有着重要的实践意义。     

我国水产加工业国际竞争力影响因素的灰色关联分析

本文首先分析了我国水产加工业的发展现状,然后运用灰色关联分析法探讨水产加工业国际竞争力的影响因素,研究结果表明:水产加工业的规模对我国水产品出口竞争力影响最大,排第一位;资本密集度和利用外资也有较重要的影响;其他因素依次为:科研教育、渔业检测、产业集中度、资源保护和技术推广。最后提出了相应的政策建议。     

The Shifting Sands of Merger Enforcement at the Federal Trade Commission

This paper presents a statistical model for Federal Trade Commission merger enforcement. After reviewing the literature, economic and political variables are posited to explain bureaucratic merger decisions. Various probit models are estimated with the results suggesting that the Commission enhanced the consideration given to merger–specific efficiencies in response to exogenous pressure to increase merger enforcement. Overall, the tightening of merger policy appears to have been focused on the transactions lacking documented cost savings     

我国环境产品出口贸易影响因素动态分析——基于CMS模型测算

本文以"APEC+OECD"环境产品清单为基础,选取2003-2013年我国环境产品贸易的相关数据,对我国环境产品的总体贸易规模、产品出口结构特征以及市场分布状况进行深入探讨。在此基础上,采用恒定市场份额模型,对影响我国环境产品出口变动的因素进行分析。结果表明:环境产品整体竞争力的提升是我国环境产品出口贸易增长的主要源泉,而结构效应和交叉效应对出口贸易增长的贡献较小。因此,我国应尽快制定和实施新的环境产品对外贸易发展战略,积极调整原有不合理的产品结构、市场结构,进一步增强我国环境产品的出口竞争优势。     

我国海运服务贸易竞争力影响因素的实证研究

本文基于钻石模型中竞争力影响因素的理论,选取2001²010年我国沿海规模以上港口的外贸货物吞吐量、交通运输业生产总值、货物贸易出口额、远洋运输量以及海运服务贸易开放度等5个指标对我国海运服务贸易竞争力的影响因素进行实证分析。研究表明,国内市场需求的增加和海运开放程度的加大能提高我国海运服务贸易出口额。本文基于实证结果提出提高自有船舶运输比例、调整海运开放策略以及提高海运行业竞争力等对策建议。     

科技信贷运作的影响因素分析

确定影响科技信贷运作的主要内部因素和环境因素，并运用ＩＳＭ法对影响科技信贷运作的各主要因素间的联系及其联系方式进行分析，从而达到科技信贷运作的有效性和实用性。     

中国对外反倾销影响因素研究

利用1999-2009年中国对外反倾销申诉数据,本文运用Logit模型和经典线性模型,实证测量了行业企业单位数、全部从业人员年平均数、总资产贡献率、资本密集度、工业成本费用利润率、竞争力指数、进口渗透率,对中国对外反倾销行为在发起阶段的影响程度,提出行业企业单位数、总资产密集度和进口渗透率是发起反倾销申诉的重要影响因素,进口渗透率和全部从业人员年平均是影响申诉频率的主要因素。     

江苏商业区域发展影响因素分析

运用SPSS软件的主成分分析功能,分析江苏商业区域发展影响因素。结果表明:商业发展水平与经济要素相关显著,与商业空间集聚要素明显相关,与人口要素相关不显著。在江苏省商业发展水平分类的基础上,分析区域商业发展影响因素作用特点:经济发展主成分对全省商业的拉动作用强劲;商业空间集聚主成分对省辖市、区商业发展的拉动作用较强;人口主成分在省辖市域尺度上对商业发展的作用显著,在县(市)域尺度上的拉动作用不明显。     

网络口碑可信度影响因素的实证研究

网络口碑的盛行引起了消费者和营销者的关注,口碑营销也借助网络口碑得到了新的发展。网络口碑影响力的大小和网络口碑营销的成功与否主要取决于网络口碑可信度的高低。通过实证研究,本文发现消费者和信息发布者的关系强度、消费者对于网络口碑传播平台的依赖程度、消费者感知的网站有用性、消费者感知的风险程度和消费者的信任倾向都显著正向影响消费者的网络口碑可信度。