Argument-based decision support for risk analysis

The calculation of statistical expectation values is a most useful tool in risk analysis, but it is not a panacea. Valuable additional decision support can be obtained from argument-based tools, i.e. rigorous tools based on conceptual distinctions and logical reasoning. If the decision problem is not well defined, then argument-based tools can be used to analyse the uncertainties involved and provide a more well-reasoned presentation of the problem. If the available information is insufficient for a reliable quantitative analysis, then argument-based tools can partly replace it as guidance for the decision-making process. Argument-based tools can be grouped into three main categories: (1) tools used to determine the impact of alternative structurings of decisions and to make an informed choice among them, (2) tools used for the evaluation of decision options, and (3) tools used for the choice among such options in terms of the relative strengths of the arguments that speak for and against each of the options.     

Markets segmented by regional-origin labelling with quality control

The purchasing power parity (PPP) hypothesis is examined in the case of less developed countries. Although the issue has been debated extensively in the context of the developed countries, there has hardly been any study using the experience of the less developed countries. Quarterly data from four countries is used for the period 1961:1—1990:4 and hardly any evidence is found of the hypothesis. A special test (namely, a cointegration test), designed for the hypothesis, has been implemented.     

Do board composition and investor type influence innovativeness in SMEs?

Companies need to adapt and evolve if they wish to survive. Future success lies in the ability to develop innovative solutions for customer??s problems and needs. This study aims to explore the influence of corporate governance and ownership structure on (product) innovativeness in a sample of 49 small and medium sized firms (SMEs) in the Belgian manufacturing industries. The main findings of the study are twofold. Firstly, a significant positive relationship between innovativeness and the size of a firm??s board has been found. Secondly, business-to-consumer markets tend to be more innovative than business-to-business markets. No significant relationship was found between the investor type and a firm??s innovativeness.     

Making Sense of Social Practice: Theoretical Pluralism in Public Sector Accounting Research: A Comment

This paper offers a comment on Jacobs (2012) published previously in this journal. Particular attention is paid to how theoretical pluralism may be defended on paradigmatic grounds whilst being mobilised as a vehicle of generating practice‐relevant insights. My critique of Jacobs focuses on his ambiguous positioning of multi‐paradigm research and the possibilities of developing some ‘indigenous’ accounting theory to render research relevant for practice. As an alternative mode of addressing these issues I propose a position based on critical realism and elaborate on how it may be used to stimulate and defend theoretical pluralism in public sector accounting research.     

Sampling from a population in which some units are duplicated and/or overlap

Abstract

In this article we discuss Sirken's multiplicity sampling along lines developed by Goodman in two earlier notes. Sampling from a list in which some units are duplicated appears as a special case.     

Codes,Ethics and Cross-Cultural Differences: Stories from the Implementation of a Corporate Code of Ethics in a MNC Subsidiary

In this article, we focus on the cross- cultural aspects of the implementation of an American company’s code of ethics into its Swedish subsidiary. We identify the cross-cultural stories that the receivers in the subsidiary use when trying to explain the parent’s code and conceptualize these stories as part of an emerging narrative of national belonging and differences. The receivers resisted the code by amplifying the importance of national identity. Rather than stimulating a discussion on ethics that might have strengthened the ties between the parent and the subsidiary, the outcome of the code implementation had the opposite effect. The article concludes by stressing the process of implementing codes across cultures rather than code content.     

Wahrgenommene Preisfairness bei Revenue Management im Luftverkehr

Revenue Management als eine innovative Form der erl?smaximierenden Preis- und Kapazit?tssteuerung rettete in den 80er Jahren eine ganze Branche vor dem Untergang. Mittlerweile fest als Standard im Luftverkehr etabliert, scheint die Frage der wahrgenommenen Preisfairness bei Revenue Management immer noch unbeantwortet. Insbesondere die Flugpreise sogenannter Billigfluggesellschaften eben Anlass zu kundenseitigen Gerechtigkeitsüberlegungen. Der Beitrag analysiert systematisch die unterschiedlichen Revenue Management-Ans?tze von etablierten Fluggesellschaften bzw. Billigfluggesellschaften sowie die jeweils vom Kunden empfundene Fairness. Ferner werden Handlungsempfehlungen für ein beziehungsorientiertes Revenue Management abgeleitet.     

On estimating an asset's implicit beta

A.F. Siegel (1995) has developed a technique with which the systematic risk of a security (beta) can be estimated without recourse to historical capital market data. Instead, beta is estimated implicity from the current market prices of exchange options that enable the exchange of a security against shares on the market index. Because this type of exchange options is not currently traded on the capital markets, Siegel's technique cannot yet be used in practice. This study will show that beta can also be estimated implicitly from the current market prices of plain vanilla options, based on the capital asset pricing model. Empirical evidence on implicit betas is provided using prices of exchange options from the European Derivatives Exchange Market (EUREX) over years 2000 to 2004. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Jrl Fut Mark 27:961–979, 2007