GAINS TO BIDDER FIRMS IN CASH AND SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS

This paper presents empirical test results of alternative hypotheses regarding differences in returns to shareholders of bidding firms that choose different payment methods (cash or securities). The evidence is consistent with the payment method signaling hypothesis, which asserts that when management of the bidding firm believes its own stock to be overvalued (undervalued), securities (cash) will be the preferred payment method. The results are not consistent with either the overpayment hypothesis or the present value/hubris hypothesis. The findings also explain the conflicting results reported in prior work on gains to bidding firms.     

A comment on the role of prices for excludable public goods

Blomquist and Christensen [(2005). The role of prices for excludable public goods, International Tax and Public Finance, 12 ,61–79] argue that welfare is initially decreasing in the price of an excludable public good and that the case for a positive price for an excludable public good price is weak. We argue that this result follows from their particular characterization of the public good and that an alternative and equally reasonable characterization overturns their result. Hence, the policy case for a positive price on the public good is stronger than Blomquist and Christiansen suggest. JEL Classification H21 · H41     

Consumption and Government Spending Substitutability Revisited: Evidence from Taiwan

Bailey (1971) first documented the idea that there may be a degree of substitutability of the relationship between government spending and private consumption. In this paper, this issue is embedded in a Markov–switching framework where the relationship is subject to shifting between two different regimes. To control small–sample bias, the bootstrap maximum likelihood estimator is used. Evidence from Taiwan indicates that the crowding–in effect dominated the pre–1980 period; the substitutability dominates the post–1980 period. It renders unconvincing the Keynesian plea for expansionary fiscal policy of Taiwan since the 1980s. A Mundell–Fleming approach is proposed to explain this dating.     

Employee involvement and group incentives in manufacturing companies: a multi-level analysis

The effects of employee involvement and group incentives on organisational commitment and turnover intention were examined using data from a survey of over 4,000 employees in 29 manufacturing companies. Using the mediated moderation model, we investigated the moderating role of capital intensity on the relationships between employee involvement and group incentives and these outcomes, and the mediating role of organisational commitment on the effects of employee involvement and group incentives on turnover intention. The findings revealed that employee involvement is more effective in capital-intensive companies than in labour-intensive companies, but group incentives are more effective in labour-intensive companies. The moderated effects on turnover intention were mediated through organisational commitment. Implications for company policies and future research are discussed.     

Implementation of interorganizational cost management and its infrastructure: the case of a Korean ‘Chaebol’ firm

In this paper, purchasing innovation in the case of a distribution company is analysed from an interorganizational cost management (IOCM) perspective. In this company, purchasing costs play an important strategic role. This study suggests that a new practice of IOCM is necessary that is suitable for Korea's economic circumstances, including the family-controlled conglomerates (Chaebols) that dominate the entire economic system. The strong need to reduce purchasing costs within Chaebols and the Korean government policy that promotes joint growth of large and small firms are crucial factors in the successful implementation of IOCM practices. We also discuss the infrastructure that enables effective IOCM in the long term, thereby adding new findings to academic research in the area, and practical implications of this benchmark case for other companies planning purchasing innovations.     

A Hong Kong view of offensive advertising

Considerable research has been conducted on offensive advertising in Western countries. However, not much is known about consumers' views of offensive advertising in an Asian context. This research, which was conducted in Hong Kong, aimed at identifying what product/service advertisements consumers find offensive, what executional styles consumers find offensive, consumers' tolerance of offensive advertisements in different media and the effects of offensive advertisements on consumers' purchase intentions. The results from a survey of 200 consumers showed that chat-line services and funeral services were considered the most offensive products or services to be advertised. When looking at the manner of advertising, sexist themes, indecent language and nudity were found to be the major reasons for the respondents finding advertisements offensive. In general, direct mail was considered to be a medium that prompts lower tolerance by consumers to potentially offensive advertisements while men and women's magazines were considered to be media that prompt higher tolerance to potentially offensive advertisements. Finally, it was found that levels of advertising offensiveness had an effect on purchase intentions.