Mitigating information asymmetry through sustainability assurance: The role of accountants and levels of assurance

This paper aims to examine the usefulness of sustainability reporting in reducing information asymmetry as result of lower dispersion and higher accuracy in financial analysts’ earnings forecasts. The empirical results from an international sample of listed companies indicate that the disclosure of sustainability information alone is not sufficient in this regard as our findings indicate that information asymmetry is reduced to a greater when such information is assured, supporting the value relevance role of sustainability reporting and assurance. In addition, the empirical findings suggest differences in terms of assurance attributes (provider and level of engagement) and such differences are even more relevant when controlling the institutional context. Assurance is highly appreciated by investors in more stakeholder-oriented countries; however, in more shareholder-oriented environments, assurance affects information asymmetries only when it is provided by accounting professionals who also report a “reasonable” opinion.     

A profile of European accounting research: evidence from leading research journals

This paper attempts both to advance understanding about the research profile of accounting in Europe and to evaluate the role of The European Accounting Review in the dissemination of Europe-based accounting research. Empirical evidence supporting this investigation was gathered from all the papers published in thirteen top accounting journals during the period 1992 to 1997. Our results show that (i) a vast majority of European contributions to well-regarded journals are authored by scholars affiliated to British higher education organizations. Therefore, the overwhelming dominance of British accounting academics over Europe-based accounting research posits considerable doubts on the extent to which it is correct to form the notion of European accounting research. Our results suggest that such a notion is strongly shaped by one constituency of the European setting, that is, by researchers affiliated to British higher education institutions. (ii) The European Accounting Review has played a significant role in the diffusion of Europe-based accounting research. The journal constitutes the sole venue providing international visibility to scholars of eleven continental European countries. Moreover, The European Accounting Review has published a significant proportion of contributions from scholars of the other fifteen European countries. (iii) There exists limited mobility of non-English written accounting research across European countries. Lastly, the paper posits some suggestions for further work in this area.     

Nadelstichverletzungen: Kleiner Pieks mit großer Wirkung

Arbeitsschutz als Führungsaufgabe - Eine kurze Unachtsamkeit oder unglückliche Verkettung von Ereignissen und schon ist es passiert: Die Kanüle trifft das Pflegepersonal. Aber: Nadelstichverletzungen lassen sich durch die Verwendung sicherer Produkte und Injektionstechniken reduzieren. Dabei ist die Verbesserung des Arbeits- und Gesundheitsschutzes des medizinischen und pflegerischen Personals eine wichtige Aufgabe der Führungskr?fte.     

Nonparametric correlation models for portfolio allocation

This article proposes time-varying nonparametric and semiparametric estimators of the conditional cross-correlation matrix in the context of portfolio allocation. Simulations results show that the nonparametric and semiparametric models are best in DGPs with substantial variability or structural breaks in correlations. Only when correlations are constant does the parametric DCC model deliver the best outcome. The methodologies are illustrated by evaluating two interesting portfolios. The first portfolio consists of the equity sector SPDRs and the S&P 500, while the second one contains major currencies. Results show the nonparametric model generally dominates the others when evaluating in-sample. However, the semiparametric model is best for out-of-sample analysis.     

An application of co-word analysis and bibliometric maps for detecting the most highlighting themes in the consumer behaviour research from a longitudinal perspective

This article presents an application of a bibliometric and visual study of the research carried out on a social science subfield, concretely the consumer behaviour research (CBR), from a longitudinal perspective (period 1966–2008). The study combines performance analysis and science mapping for detecting and visualizing conceptual subdomains. Quantitative and qualitative measures are used in order to identify the most prominent themes. Quantitative data are used to put together very related concepts (themes or clusters of topics), while qualitative indicators (as those based on citations) are used to measure the quality and/or impact of the detected themes. The study also uses bibliometric maps to show in a visual way the associations between the main concepts treated by the CBR community. The maps provide insight into the structure of the CBR, visualize the division of the field into several subfields, and indicate the relationships between these subfields. Co-word analysis is the bibliometric technique used to identify the main themes. All this allows us to quantify and visualize the thematic evolution of the CBR. It also helps to both experts and novices to understand the current state of the art of the CBR and to predict where future research could lead.     

Influence of Affective Traits on Entrepreneur's Goals and Satisfaction

Emotions are important to an individual's behavior. However, affective elements have rarely been included in the analysis of entrepreneurs' behavior. Using a sample of 335 entrepreneurs from multiple industries of the Spanish region of Castile and León, we analyze the role of emotions in entrepreneurs' statement of goals and in their satisfaction with business performance. The results show that positive affective traits influence an entrepreneur to state broad and ambitious goals, and personal negative affective traits influence an entrepreneur to state a narrow set of goals. We also find that positive (negative) affective traits are positively (negatively) related to entrepreneur satisfaction.     

Cournot equilibrium without apology: Existence and the Cournot inverse demand function

In a multi-commodity framework with absence of wealth effects, we prove the existence of equilibrium for Cournot oligopoly, and that the concept is completely non-ambiguous. We also obtain a uniquely defined endogenous inverse demand function, depending only on the competitive sector.