In search of heterotopia? Motivations of visitors to an English cathedral

This paper explores visitor motivations at an English cathedral, and the role that heterotopia plays in their motives. More than a third of visitors to Chichester Cathedral appear to be motivated by a subconscious search for a spiritual experience, hidden by rational motives such as interest in history. It concludes by examining the management implications that arise from a potential lack of understanding about visitors' motivations. Cathedral managers should acknowledge their visitors' intrinsic sense of spirituality and recognise their spiritual motivations through interpretation, which should encourage them to explore their personal narratives around the emotional dimension of visiting a cathedral. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is Real Earnings Smoothing Harmful? Evidence from Firm‐Specific Stock Price Crash Risk

This study examines whether and when real earnings smoothing influences firm‐specific stock price crash risk. Using a sample of U.S. public firms for the years 1993 through 2014, we find real earnings smoothing to be positively associated with firm‐specific stock price crash risk. This finding is consistent with the view that real earnings smoothing helps managers withhold bad news, keep poor‐performing projects, conceal resource diversion, and engage in ineffective risk management, which increases crash risk. Further, we find a stronger relation between crash risk and real earnings smoothing when firm uncertainty is higher, product market competition is lower, and balance sheet constraint is higher. Overall, our study suggests that real earnings smoothing destroys shareholder value in that it increases stock price crash risk.     

专家点评汽车配件案 何为贵？“和”为贵

2005年7月，笔者在布鲁塞尔欧盟总部、国会访问。国会的官员透露，欧盟正准备和中国打两个贸易战，一个是针对中国鞋的反倾销，一个就是汽车配件的关税问题。2006年4月初，欧美共同把中国汽车关税案告到了WTO争端解决机制，汽车配件案急剧升级。该案更多具有官方性质，涉及的是关税政策，自然中国政府是案件的第一责任人，所以我们没有见到中国企业的积极反馈，案子一下子就走入了WTO似乎快了点。     

Emerging Stars and Developed Neighbors: The Effects of Development Imbalance and Political Shocks on Mutual Fund Investments in China

This paper examines the influence of regional economic development on mutual funds investment decisions. Using fund holdings from 2003 to 2008, we find that Chinese mutual funds that collectively reside in the developed coastal region have the ability to select “star” firms from neighboring inland areas and overweight them in their portfolios. However, they present a clear local bias within the coastal region. Such investment behavior is robust to political interventions. In particular, changes in political climate make mutual funds seek fundamentals like growth prospects and diversification benefits. Overall, economic and political factors significantly influence mutual funds investment decisions in emerging China.     

What is the value of networking? An examination of trade show attendee outcomes

Business events have become a key sector of growth in the events industry. However, there is a paucity of empirical studies that examine the outcomes that participants derive from these events. This study aims to address this by specifically focusing on one objective of business events—networking. A case study approach was used to explore how organizers design events for networking and the outcomes that participants gain from events. Findings revealed that objectives differed based on the type of attendee and attendees typically followed up with 20–30% of contacts after the event, indicating that the use of networking technologies could enable more valuable connections to be made.