Analysts' Forecasts Following Forced CEO Changes

This paper examines analysts' earnings forecasts during the period of uncertainty following a change of chief executive officer (CEO). It distinguishes between forced and non‐forced CEO changes, and examines whether analysts utilize their information advantage to reduce the heightened uncertainty of a forced change of CEO. Examining a sample of Australian companies followed by analysts between 1999 and 2009, we find that forecasting accuracy is lower and earnings forecasts are more optimistic for firms experiencing forced CEO turnover compared to firms not undergoing such a change. However, dispersion is not statistically different. The results suggest that forced CEO turnover events provide a challenge to the forecasting environment for analysts. During CEO changes, investors should be aware that forecasts are less accurate and have an optimistic bias.     

Learning from cost analyses: an illustration from the UK's New Deal for Disabled People (NDDP)

This article describes a cost analysis of an employment programme available to people claiming incapacity benefits in the UK. The NDDP was delivered locally by contracted providers called ‘job brokers’. The cost analysis found great variation among job brokers' costs and profitability, much of which seems attributable to differences in job broker size. The methods described here will be useful in evaluations wherever multiple institutions are contracted by governments to deliver services, especially when these institutions are involved in several different programmes.     

New development: Information for localism? Policy sense-making for local governance

Recent policy changes in the UK emphasising localism, as opposed to centrally-driven performance management, have potentially significant implications for the use of information in local policy-shaping. This article explores the challenges that this implies for framing the problem and in terms of the current and future uses of information for local governance.     

International compliance with new Basel Accord principles for risk governance

We assess international compliance with the Basel Committee's 2010 guidance on governance of banking organisations. Based on an extensive examination of regulatory documents in selected advanced economies, we find that reform is incomplete in jurisdictions most affected by the financial crisis, and with the largest financial centres. In contrast, other countries less affected by the financial crisis have enacted risk governance reforms as protection against potential future contagion. We provide insights for policy‐makers charged with improving governance at banks, and a richer understanding for international regulators as they revise the guidelines and aim for greater compliance at the national level.     

Consumer education and the OECD electronic commerce consumer protection guidelines

This paper explores the implications of e‐commerce transactions and the lack of consumer protection regulation on consumer educators and curricula. The discussion is divided into five sections: conceptualizing e‐commerce; the juggernaut of e‐commerce; consumer education defined, especially consumer protection in the electronic market‐place; the Organization for Economic Co‐operation and Development (OECD) 1998 Ottawa conference on electronic commerce; and the implications of this fluid market and policy context on consumer educators. Empowerment of the consumer, the ultimate objective of consumer education, is a total challenge in the global electronic market‐place, but a challenge that must be embraced by staying informed, becoming a consumer advocate, as well as educator, and remaining ever vigilant as curricula are developed for the domestic consumer transacting in an electronic global market.     

Telematics: Decision Time for Detroit

With implications for navigation, safety, entertainment and vehicle maintenance as well as regulation and infrastructure investment in roads, telematics has the potential to transform driving more than any other innovation for decades. In the already well-established Asian telematics industry, revenue tends to come from extra charges at the time of vehicle-sale, with most subsequent services provided free. The US model has evolved differently, with much of the cost of telematics hardware and software subsidized in the initial vehicle sale price and revenue coming from services used. The decision to invest in telematics is therefore riskier in the US. This article first briefly summarizes the potential of telematics. It then analyzes the investment risks, particularly for automakers. It concludes with recommendations on how the US auto industry can minimize risk and make the most of the opportunities.     

Towards adopting a global perspective in the field of consumer studies

Abstract Using economic principles to explain the nuances of consumer decisions with global implications does not adequately capture the reality of modern consumption. Embracing a global perspective would enable consumer studies professionals to compensate for this shortcoming as it consists ‘of the information, attitudes, awareness, and skills which taken together, can help individuals understand the world, how they affect others, and how others affect them’ (p.19).¹ As this paper explains the essence of a global perspective, it reinterprets a collection of economic principles towards global sensitivity. Six ideas are suggested to facilitate a dialogue among consumer studies professionals about practising from a global perspective.     

Consumer scholarship and transdisciplinarity

A case is made for the place of transdisciplinary inquiry in consumer scholarship. After framing consumer studies as a discipline, the paper explains seven conventional modes of disciplinarity. Then, the discussion turns to the nuances of the transdisciplinary approach, and what consumer scholarship would look like within this perspective. Seasoned and emerging consumer scholars and practitioners are invited to brave the repercussions of stepping outside of their disciplinary boundary onto a rich fertile space where the academy meets society for the betterment of humanity. Consumer scholarship will never be the same.