Eco-control: The influence of management control systems on environmental and economic performance

Eco-control is the application of financial and strategic control methods to environmental management. In this study, we investigate to what extent eco-control influences environmental and economic performance. Using survey-data from a sample of Canadian manufacturing firms, the results suggest that eco-control has no direct effect on economic performance. A mediating effect of environmental performance on the link between eco-control and economic performance is observed in different contexts. More specifically, eco-control indirectly influences economic performance in the context of (i) higher environmental exposure, (ii) higher public visibility, (iii) higher environmental concern, and (iv) larger size. This study contributes to the management accounting literature by providing insight into the roles and contributions of management accounting in the context of sustainable development.     

Three discount methods for valuing projects and the required return on equity

In this paper we discuss the required return on equity for a simple project with a finite life. To determine a project’s cost of equity, it is quite common to use Modigliani and Miller’s Proposition II (1963). However, if the assumptions of MM do not hold, Proposition II will lead to wrong required returns and project values. This paper gives an example of how the cost of equity should be determined in order to obtain correct valuations. The methods we apply are the Adjusted Present Value method, the Cash Flow to Equity method and the WACC method.     

Competition Policy as Strategic Trade with Differentiated Products

The paper analyzes how countries use competition policy as a tool for strategic trade. In the model, two countries export to a third country. Each exporting country is endowed with a set of differentiated products. Each government chooses the number of exporters for its country and the products that each exporter sells in the first period, and a tax policy in the second period. Firms choose prices or quantities independently in the third period. In the unique subgame‐perfect equilibrium, both countries group all their products within a single firm—the “national champion policy.” We study the implication of different assumptions about the timing of the game.     

Inequalities for the De Pril approximation to the distribution of the number of policies with claims

In the present paper, we give sufficient conditions for an ordering of De Pril approximations of the distribution of the number of claims in an insurance portfolio of independent policies. Possible extensions are discussed, both for the De Pril approximation and the Kornya approximation. A numerical example is given.     

Trade Impact Analysis on the ASEAN-China Trade in Goods Agreement

Background ASEAN and China signed the ASEAN-China Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation which entered into force on 1 July 2003.     

Target ratcheting and effort reduction

In this paper, we examine how retail store managers reduce their sales activity in response to target ratcheting. We find that managers with favorable sales performance in the first three quarters reduce their sales activity in the final quarter. We also document that managers who engage in sales reducing activities enhance their likelihood of meeting their next-year sales target, which is based on their current sales. That is, managers who reduce their sales activity in the final quarter are more likely to beat their next-year sales targets than managers who refrain from reducing their final-quarter sales.