Environmental uncertainty and the market pricing of earnings smoothness

Environmental uncertainty induces variability in an organization's reported earnings, and accentuates the information asymmetry between its managers and outside stakeholders. Managers operating in an environment of high uncertainty, therefore, have an incentive to reduce such variability by smoothing income numbers. We investigate the stock market response to earnings smoothness for firms operating in an environment of high uncertainty. We measure income smoothing by the negative correlation of a firm's change in discretionary accruals with its change in pre-managed earnings as per Tucker and Zarowin (2006). Using future earnings response coefficient (FERC) methodology to measure the informativeness of smoothed earnings, and two measures of environmental uncertainty, this paper documents that current stock price incorporates more information about future earnings for firms operating in high uncertain environments, thus supporting the informational value view of income smoothing.     

Choice of organizational form in the life insurance industry: New Zealand evidence

Two forms of ownership structure characterize the insurance industry—the stock company owned by shareholders and the mutual form which is owned by its policyholders. The academic literature suggests that ownership structure is dependent upon the efficiency of the endogenous contracting mechanisms and governance structures in firms. Mutuals are predicted to exist and successfully compete with stock companies in insurance markets because they merge the ownership-customer functions and introduceex-ante contracting mechanisms andex-post modes of governance which restrict managerial discretion. Drawing a framework from transaction cost theory, this study tests empirically the proposition that choice of ownership structure in the life insurance industry is related to contracting mechanisms and governance structures in the firm. Individual cross-sectional logistic regression models are estimated using 1991–1993 data gathered from New Zealand's life insurance industry. Consistent with expectations our results suggest that mutuals are more likely to have higher asset specificity than stock companies. By contrast, stocks appear to be more reinsured and incur higher governance expenditures than mutual companies. Furthermore, contrary to what was hypothesized, our findings indicate that mutuals may be bigger than stock companies. Therefore, overall the empirical evidence does not support the predictions drawn from transaction cost theory.The authors are lecturers, Department of Accounting and Finance, University of Glasgow, and Department of Accountancy, Massey University, New Zealand, respectively.The authors thank Lars Hassel, Leung Hing-Man, Bill Maughan, Mike Pickford, Kulwant Singh and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on original drafts of this paper. However, they are solely responsible for any errors or omissions that remain. They also appreciate the cooperation of members of New Zealand's life insurance industry for supplying information. Finally, the financial support of Price Waterhouse (Wellington, New Zealand) is gratefully acknowledged.     

Spatial patterns of rural poverty and their relationship with welfare-influencing factors in Bangladesh

This study determines the spatial variation of rural poverty in Bangladesh and its relation to people’s livelihood assets affecting their ability to procure food. We estimated household income for over 1 million census households using a predictor model based on a nationally representative sample survey data set. We computed and mapped poverty indices for 415 rural subdistricts revealing distinct areas with high poverty incidence that correspond with ecologically depressed areas. However, other livelihood-influencing factors such as education, accessibility and services are significantly correlated with poverty. This indicates the need for continued focus on providing education and access to income-generating opportunities so that the poor can better meet their food needs. Geographically weighted regression analysis indicated spatial differences in the relative importance of various poverty-influencing factors. Multivariate clustering of the local parameter (β) estimates of the determinant factors revealed distinct spatial relationships, which have implications on poverty alleviation interventions specific to the different regions.     

Corporate Social and Environmental Responsibility Reporting Practices from an Emerging Mobile Telecommunications Market

This study examines corporate social responsibility reporting practices in the rapidly growing mobile telecommunications industry in Bangladesh. This industry sector is one of the fastest growing in the world making it an attractive global investment. Using content analysis we reviewed and analysed the annual reports of four major mobile companies between 2008 and 2011. The findings reveal that mobile telecommunications companies in Bangladesh disclose social and environmental responsibility information across a range of categories. We find that these mobile companies provide significant benefits to education and health in Bangladesh and that their focus on community and development disclosures are motivated in part by seeking to maintain legitimacy in an extremely competitive industry.     

Measuring performance of knowledge‐intensive workgroups through social networks

In this article, we examine the effect of social network position, structure, and ties on the performance of knowledge‐intensive workers in dispersed occupational communities. Using structural holes and strength‐of‐tie theory, we develop a theoretical framework and a valid and reliable survey instrument. Second, we apply network and structural holes measures for understanding its association with performance. Empirical results suggest that degree centrality in a knowledge workers' professional network positively influences performance use, whereas a highly constrained professional network is detrimental to performance. The findings show that social network structure and position are important factors to consider for individual performance.     

From the Editor

This article empirically verifies the export-led growth hypothesis for Bangladesh and examines whether manufacturing exports have become a new engine of the export-led growth in Bangladesh, replacing the total exports-engine, as claimed by the so called de novo hypothesis. The empirical assessment based on the vector error correction modeling (VECM) that uses quarterly data over the period 1974–1999 suggests that both total exports and manufacturing exports have had positive and statistically significant impacts both in the long run and the short run. But an encompassing test in conjunction with the various non-nested tests suggests that total exports, as opposed to manufacturing exports in isolation, is the dominant engine of the export-led growth. This refutes the claim that manufacturing exports has become the sole determinant of the export-led growth in Bangladesh.     

CordNet: Toward a distributed behavior model for emergency response coordination

Existing studies of coordination theory in human networks have looked at coordination problems requiring stable working relationships with no environmental uncertainties. With emergency response management demanding distributed coordination in volatile situations, the designs of existing models are useful as a building block, yet flawed for application. We hypothesize that changes to interconnectedness of nodes in the network may have implications on the potential to coordinate. To test our hypotheses, we investigate survey data from state law enforcement, state emergency services, and local law enforcement by performing agency‐based (macro) and cross‐agency (micro) analysis to identify attributes of each network and coordination.     

Learning by bidding

We analyze a dynamic second‐price auction with an informed bidder and an uninformed bidder who, upon seeing a posted price, learns whether his valuation is above that price. In the essentially unique equilibrium, an informed bidder bids in the first period if her valuation is below some cutoff and bids only in the last period otherwise. An uninformed bidder bids in every period to optimally change the price unless the price is above his valuation or he is the high bidder. This model also provides a rationale behind the use of a secret reserve price in private‐value settings.