The Conceptualization and Measurement of Suppliers' Reputation Display in Asymmetric Marketing Relationships

In asymmetric buyer-supplier relationships, suppliers typically possess more information about the object of an exchange. To ameliorate customers' evaluation problems, suppliers use signals to promise the delivery of a certain quality level to the market. A commonly used supplier signal in asymmetric markets is the manner in which reputation is displayed to buyers. While the marketing literature recognizes the role of reputation in structuring such asymmetric buyer-supplier relationships, relatively little research effort has been directed at the conceptualization and measurement of suppliers' reputation display. To address this gap, I adopt an interdisciplinary perspective and conceptualize suppliers' reputation display as a multi-dimensional construct. Specifically, I argue that suppliers' reputation display represents a latent consisting of three distinct dimensions; (i) specific investments, (ii) advertising intensity, and (iii) certification. The preceding conceptualization implies that reputation display signals a suppliers' past and future conduct to the marketplace. For example, by displaying certification, suppliers expect the market to infer certain firm attributes based on past actions. Likewise, suppliers' investments in advertising and specific assets may provide a signal of future honest behavior to the marketplace. I empirically validate this three factor conceptualization of reputation display by utilizing the technique of Latent Variable Structural Equations Modeling (LVSE). Empirical tests conducted on data obtained from 287 automotive service managers via mail survey support the three factor model of reputation display.     

The joint information role of analysts’ cash flow and earnings forecasts

We study whether the relative magnitudes of analysts’ cash flow and earnings forecasts convey information about the persistence and value relevance of reported earnings. We find that reported earnings are likely to be more (less) persistent and value relevant when analysts forecast relatively moderate (extreme) levels of operating cash flows, relative to earnings. We also find that the market’s response to a given earnings surprise is the strongest for moderate levels of cash flow forecasts relative to earnings. The joint information role of analysts’ cash flow and earnings forecasts persists even after controlling for the absolute accruals in the model.     

Analyst recommendations and the implied cost of equity

We investigate the relation between analyst recommendations and the cost of equity implied by current stock price and earnings forecasts. Contrary to expectations, previous-year recommendation upgrades are associated with increases in the current cost of equity; and past increases in the cost of equity are associated with current recommendation downgrades. Furthermore, changes in the implied cost of equity and changes in analyst recommendations jointly explain as much as 31% of the variation in 1-year holding period returns, where most of the variation (28%) is explained by the implied cost of equity alone. We document that when forming recommendations, analysts underestimate the role of the cost of equity.     

Gender and the dynamics of technology adoption: Empirical evidence from a household-level panel data

Very few empirical studies account for the dynamic nature of the agricultural technology adoption decision and none of these explores if this dynamic nature depends on the gender of the decision maker. Using four waves of a household-level Ugandan panel data, this is the first empirical analysis to account for self-learning (one's own adoption experience) in explaining current adoption decision in a developing country context, and the first to study the interaction between self-learning and gender. Technology adoption is defined as adoption of hybrid seed, inorganic fertilizer, or pesticides. Our results indicate that the dynamic panel data Probit model is superior to its static counterpart in the sense that self-learning, captured by lagged technology adoption indicators, is by far the most important determinant of technology adoption. We also find a weaker impact of self-learning for female-headed households than male-headed households. Female-headed households face fewer learning opportunities, which produce a lower self-learning impact in later periods, further exacerbating the gap in technology adoption among male- and female-headed households.     

Off-Farm Labor Participation Decisions of Married Farm Couples and the Role of Government Payments

The determinants of off-farm work by married farm couples are examined using data from the 2004 Agricultural Resource Management Survey and multinomial logistic regression. Expected government payment is found important in decreasing the likelihood of off-farm work strategies involving work by the husband only or by both husband and wife relative to a strategy of no work by either husband or wife. The marginal impact of government payments on the probability of the wife working off farm alone is found positive suggesting the possibility of nonpecuniary motives for off-farm employment for 21% of farm households in the selected weighted sample.     

Evaluating sustainable intensification and diversification options for agriculture-based livelihoods within an aquatic biodiversity conservation context in Buxa,West Bengal,India

Potential impacts of sustainable intensification and diversification options for agriculture-based livelihoods in Buxa, West Bengal, India, were evaluated using bioeconomic modelling. The baseline scenario involved multiple cropping seasons and a combination of crops on 0.9 ha land-holdings, livestock husbandry, and exploitation of common property resources. With capital costs of Rs.128,180 (US$2293) and annual operating costs of Rs.37,290 (US$667), the net benefit generated (excluding depreciation) was Rs.70,250 (US$1257) annually. The pay-back period was 1.8 years, and the internal rate of return (IRR) was 53.7% over 10 years. Allocation of 20 days annually to fishing increased the net benefit to Rs.75,030 (US$1342) and IRR to 56.5% with minimal added costs and risks. Adopting the system of rice intensification (SRI) for paddy cultivation on 0.35?ha increased the IRR to 61.1%, while reducing agrochemical and inorganic fertilizer use. Including small-scale fish culture in a 0.1 ha pond integrated in the irrigation scheme for SRI cultivation resulted in an IRR of 77.3% and reduced the pay-back period to 1.3 years. Some risks to biodiversity are apparent with each scenario; however, with appropriate safeguards, sustainable agricultural intensification and livelihoods diversification could bolster agrobiodiversity and social-ecological resilience of highland communities, while alleviating pressure on biodiversity.     

The role of mutual trust in effective downsizing strategies

Several factors that explain differences in the downsizing strategies utilized in organizations are examined in this study of 91 organizations in the automotive industry. Specifically, mutual trust within a top management team is positively associated with a strategy based on organization redesign. Mutual trust between members of an organization and its key customers and suppliers is positively associated with a strategy based on systemic change. Moreover, these two strategies are positively associated with performance outcomes in the areas of cost reduction and quality improvement.     

Deposit insurance subsidies,moral hazard,and bank regulation

The model developed in the paper separates deposit insurance subsidies into two components: a premium-linked subsidy which arises from an ex-ante mispricing of the deposit insurance premium, and an asset-linked subsidy which arises from a lack of ex-post monitoring of the bank's actions. The identification of these two subsidies provides important insight into the relation between deposit-insurance subsidies and bank risk. The asset-linked subsidy is higher for banks of average risk and lower for very-high and very-low risk banks. The premiumlinked subsidy behaves differently under risk-adjusted and fixed-rate premiums. The model also indicates that the implementation of a riskadjusted insurance-rate schedule alone would not be sufficient to eliminate the bank's excessive risk-taking behavior. Thus, some combination of risk-sensitive deposit-insurance pricing and regulatory control is necessary to reduce the moral hazard problem.     

Where Do Australians Invest?

In this article, we analyse the geography of Australia's international portfolio investment using the International Monetary Fund's Co‐ordinated Portfolio Investment Survey dataset. Preliminary results suggest that Australia's external holdings of equity and debt as a percentage of national income almost doubled between 1997 and 2001. However, Australia's international investment position as a percentage of national income is one of the lowest amongst the major OECD countries. In 2001 approximately two‐thirds of Australia's total investments were in the United States and the United Kingdom. By contrast Australia's trade share (exports plus imports as a percentage of Australia's total world trade) with these countries was approximately 20 per cent in the same year. The major determinants of Australia's geographical allocation of portfolio investment indicate a broad correspondence between stock market capitalisation of destination countries and the allocation of Australian financial investments but with some deviations from that baseline, where the deviations are correlated with Australian trade patterns.     

The Effect of Founding Family Influence on Firm Value and Corporate Governance

We examined a sample of 120 Norwegian, founding family controlled and non‐founding family controlled firms, to address two important research questions: (1) is founding family control associated with higher firm value; and (2) are there unique corporate governance conditions under which a founding family controlled firm can be more valuable? We find a positive association between founding family control and firm value for four alternative definitions of founding family control. We find that the association between founding family CEOs and firm value is stronger among younger firms, firms with smaller boards, and firms with a single class of shares. However, the impact of founding family directors on firm value is not affected by corporate governance conditions such as firm age, board independence, and number of share classes. We also find that the relation between founding family ownership and firm value is greater among older firms, firms with larger boards, and particularly when these firms have multiple classes of shares. Our results imply that founding family controlled firms are more valuable and governed differently than firms without such influence. Furthermore, our results also suggest that founding family CEOs can enhance firm performance when family influence does not create shareholder entrenchment or when their cash flow rights are more aligned with their control rights.