The two faces of organizational information

Organizational information, i.e. “facts” given and taken, and inferences drawn and established by participants within an organizational situation, may be examined in terms of its import to the relationship between an organization and its environment. A “locus” for organizational information is established in which information is classified as: (a) either inner- or other-directed: (b) either internally- or externally-based; and (c) either self- or other-referencing. Examples of organizational information in each of the eight possible categories are readily identified. Much, if not most, organizational information is probably best regarded as “two-faced”, i.e. as the product of inner- and other-directed needs taken together. For this reason, the basis, or justification of any item of organizational information is often obscure. This is seen to have consequences for organizational self-learning and self-delusion, and for the maintenance of organizational credibility and organizational secrets.     

The Stock Market Reaction to Investment Announcements: The Case of Individual Capital Expenditure Projects

In this paper we provide novel evidence about the market reaction to capital expenditure announcements in the UK using a sample of nearly 500 disclosures made between 1989 and 1991. First, we show that the market reaction to joint venture announcements is significantly positive, whilst similar announcements from individual companies do not elicit any response. Second, we find that the market reaction to single company investments is positively related to the size of the expenditure, but only for projects which immediately generate cash. Finally, we report that the variability in the market response to announcements which follow large cash inflows is significantly lower than the variability in investors' reactions to announcements which are not preceded by such inflows.     

Work and common health problems

This paper reviews the evidence on the relationship between work and health. It concludes that, overall, the beneficial effects of work outweigh the risks of work, and are greater than the harmful effects of long-term worklessness. That contrasts with increasing trends of sickness absence, long-term incapacity and ill-health retirement attributed to common health problems. It suggests that there needs to be a fundamental shift in how we think about common health problems and work--in health care, the workplace and society.     

Reflections on the Efficient Market Hypothesis: 30 Years Later

In recent years financial economists have increasingly questioned the efficient market hypothesis. But surely if market prices were often irrational and if market returns were as predictable as some critics have claimed, then professionally managed investment funds should easily be able to outdistance a passive index fund. This paper shows that professional investment managers, both in The U.S. and abroad, do not outperform their index benchmarks and provides evidence that by and large market prices do seem to reflect all available information.     

IRREVERSIBLE SUPPLY FUNCTIONS REVISITED

This paper presents a successful application of an irreversible supply model to the UK egg sector. The model has been developed to overcome the problems that the conventional approaches to irreversible supply modelling face when used with a partial adjustment framework. The results indicate that the supply response to price changes under excess capacity is less than a third of that under non-excess capacity, but that the long-run response is symmetric, as required by the underlying theory. Furthermore, the long-run elasticity from a conventional, symmetric, partial-adjustment model is some 40% larger than that of the asymmetric model, implying that the importance of the asymmetric specification extends beyond an interest in the short-run adjustment path.     

The role of attributions in consumer perceptions of retail advertisements promoting price discounts

This study examines whether information in an advertisement promoting a price discount is capable of affecting attributions made about the price reduction and whether these attributions, in turn, affect consumer perceptions and evaluations of the sale. Findings show that price image of the retail advertiser had a strong effect on attributions pertaining to the merchant and a marginal effect on product attributions. The attribution variables, in turn, explained significant amounts of variance in criterion variables measuring consumer perceptions of value, attitude toward the ad, and shopping intentions, beyond the variance explained by the store and discount claim variables manipulated in the study. These results suggest the importance of the role of attributions made by consumers when exposed to ads promoting discounts.     

Sanctions will Exacerbate Apartheid

The imposition of sanctions, far from stimulating the economic independence of blacks, is likely to increase repression and bloodshed. John Burton, Research Director at the Institute of Economic Affairs, regrets the triumph of emotional impulse over common sense.     

Marketers’ use of alternative front-of-package nutrition symbols: An examination of effects on product evaluations

How front-of-package (FOP) nutrition icon systems affect product evaluations for more and less healthful objective nutrition profiles is a critical question facing food marketers, consumers, and the public health community. We propose a conceptually-based hierarchical continuum to guide predictions regarding the effectiveness of several FOP systems currently used in the marketplace. In Studies 1a and 1b, we compare the effects of a broad set of FOP icons on nutrition evaluations linked to health, accuracy of evaluations, and purchase intentions for a single product. Based on these findings, Studies 2 and 3 test the effects of two conceptually-different FOP icon systems in a retail laboratory in which consumers make comparative evaluations of multiple products at the retail shelf. While there are favorable effects of each system beyond control conditions with no FOP icons, results show that icons with an evaluative component that aid consumers’ interpretations generally provide greater benefits (particularly in product comparison contexts). We offer implications for consumer packaged goods marketers, retailers, and the public policy and consumer health communities.