Firm characteristics and audit committees complying with ’best practice‘ membership guidelines

This study investigates demand and supply characteristics associated with firms that voluntarily established audit committees meeting ‘best practice’ membership guidelines. We focus on a set of best practice criteria rather than on the separate elements of the best practice criteria as in past studies. We conduct our tests using a sample of New Zealand listed companies that, relative to firms in other capital markets, are smaller and have more concentrated ownership. This setting differs from prior research because we expect the costs of voluntarily achieving best practice to be reasonably high. The results show that demand factors are not significantly related to the presence of an audit committee that conforms with best practice membership guidelines. However, supply factors (i.e. those firms with larger and more independent boards) are more likely to form audit committees that meet best practice. These results suggest that compliance costs will be greater for firms with smaller and less independent boards of directors if they are required to comply with best practice requirements.     

Relationship management for innovation: the central role of communication in australia's participation in two hi-tech industries

Individuals make decisions about whether innovations are adopted and transferred to new uses or locations. This Paper argues that relational competence Is critical for innovation management and technology transfer and that personal communication, formal and informal, is the core component in such competence. It shows how “close ties” and communication are critical to innovation, particularly given the changing nature and role of technolop management in the context o f rapidly increasing globalization. This is illustrated with reference to the communication in he mindset and practice of technology partnering in Australia's participation in the aerospace and telecommunications industries.     

An Examination of Changes in Specialists' Posted Price Schedules

New York Stock Exchange specialists disseminate informationto market participants by displaying price schedules consistingof bid prices, ask prices, bid depths, and ask depths. We examinehow specialists update these price schedules in a simultaneousequations model. We find that changes in the best prices anddepths on the limit order book have a significant impact onthe posted price schedule, while the effects of transactionsand order activity are secondary. Furthermore, we show thatspecialists revise prices and depths differently, but find noevidence that they revise the price schedule in response tochanges in inventory.     

Sales compensation governance: the last frontier of corporate reform

The area of sales compensation has remained relatively untouched by recent pressures for compensation reform. This article highlights some of the ways that sales organizations stumble in managing their compensation programs, and why it takes more than a simple tactical fix to address these problems effectively. The authors describe a more structured governance framework that not only identifies and resolves key sales compensation issues, but ultimately safeguards the effectiveness and financial integrity of the sales organization itself.     

The Impact of Early Childhood Nutritional Status on Cognitive Development: Does the Timing of Malnutrition Matter?

This article uses longitudinal data from the Philippines toexamine whether the timing of malnutrition in early childhoodis a critical factor in determining subsequent cognitive development.Although some observers have argued that the first six monthsof life are the most critical in the sense that malnutritionduring that time period harms cognitive development more thanmalnutrition later in life, analysis of the Philippines datadoes not support this claim. To the contrary, the data suggestthat malnutrition in the second year of life may have a largernegative impact than malnutrition in the first year of life.     

Teaching the Implicit Assumptions Underlying Firm Behavior in the Neoclassical Model

The neoclassical model imposes narrow assumptions on firm behavior and in the process hides implicit assumptions regarding the behavior of individuals. Although the firm is a complicated organization composed of many individuals, the neoclassical model simplifies its behavior to one objective—the maximization of profits. This assumption implicitly assumes that individuals within the firm subordinate their own self-interest for the firm’s benefit. A classroom activity is described which assists students in discerning whether the assumption of profit maximization fits reality.