Insightful Insiders? Insider Trading and Stock Return around Debt Covenant Violation Disclosures

This study asks whether insider trading associates with an information advantage around first‐time debt covenant violation disclosures in SEC filings, which potentially results from early access to information about the debt covenant violation disclosure. We document two results. First, we find net insider selling up to 12 months before a debt covenant violation disclosure, which precedes investors' negative returns before disclosure; and net insider buying up to 12 months after disclosure, which precedes investors' positive returns after disclosure. Second, we show that net insider trading one to two months before and after the violation disclosure associates predictably with investors' short‐term reaction to the covenant violation announcement.     

Assessing the potential of SRI management principles and the FFS approach in Northeast Thailand for sustainable rice intensification in the context of climate change

The paper describes the facilitated learning process of farmers, its results and implications in addressing the low productivity of Jasmine rice in northeast Thailand using the SRI-FFS approach in a collaborative action research. Other involved included rice traders, millers, researchers, government and non-governmental organizations. Working through an inclusive process of dialogue, observation, diagnosis, experimentation and exposure to different types of innovative agronomic crop management (IACM) practices resulting from the SRI–FFS approach, participants made a thorough analysis of the current management practices and evaluated various IACM practices for their productivity and profitability. The results confirmed the potential of IACM in enhancing crop and water productivity along with soil fertility with relatively low input-use (seed, water and fertilizers) and higher net farm-income compared to existing crop management practices. However, factors such as (i) the age of the farmers and (ii) off-farm employment opportunity are key drivers that affect the crop management decision-making process. Therefore, exploration of value-added production alternatives and favourable policies is required to sustain IACM that can benefit farmers, consumers and the environment. The participation of policy-makers at the action research continuum is essential for effective follow up, scaling up and sustainability of such environmentally sound practices.     

Remediation of Abandoned Saline Soils Using Glycyrrhiza glabra: A Study from the Hungry Steppes of Central Asia

Large expansion of the irrigated area in the Aral Sea Basin has exacted a substantial toll on land and water resources in the region. Elevated water tables associated with poor irrigation management and inappropriate drainage infrastructure have resulted in significant secondary salinisation of crop lands resulting in declining cotton and wheat yields and eventual abandonment of lands. Costs associated with the installation of appropriate drainage infrastructure in order to reclaim these areas are prohibitive and hence alternative approaches are required that can be adopted by resource poor farmers. In the current study the potential use of Glycyrrhiza glabra (common name liquorice) to reclaim abandoned saline areas was assessed over a four year period before being returned to a cotton/wheat crop rotation. Two adjacent abandoned fields of 10 and 13 ha respectively were selected for the study on which two treatments were imposed, namely, a control that was maintained as a bare fallow between 1999 and 2003 and a treated plot where liquorice was established over this period. High quality livestock forage with a protein content of 12% was cut from the liquorice plot with dry matter yields ranging from 3.66 (±0.06) to 5.11 (±0.17) t ha^?1. In addition, root dry matter yields of 5.63 (±1.19) to 8.55 (±0.82) t ha^?1 were recorded, this plant component being used in the preparation of herbal medicines and soft drinks. At the end of four years both plots were returned to a wheat and cotton crop rotation. Yields of wheat on the control and treated plots were 0.87 (±0.05) and 2.42 (±0.02) t ha^?1 respectively. Similarly substantial increases in cotton were observed with the control and treated plots yielding 0.31 (±0.01) and 1.89 (±0.18) t ha^?1. These levels of production on the treated plot exceed the district average for wheat and cotton of 1.75 and 1.5 t ha^?1 respectively, clearly showing the positive benefit associated with the growing of liquorice. Water table levels after four years were maintained below the critical level of 2.5 m in the treated plots whilst rising to within 1.99 m from the surface in the control. Salt content of the soil in the treated plot declined over the study while those in the control increased. This preliminary study has clearly demonstrated the ameliorating affect of liquorice in bringing abandoned salt affected soils back into production that is low cost and could be adopted by resource poor farmers.     

Building brand equity with cause-related marketing: A comparison with sponsorship and sales promotion

Building brand equity is a key objective for a range of communication activities; however, greater understanding is required on how different communication options compare in their impact on consumer response to a brand. In particular, firms are increasingly using cause-related marketing (CRM) to achieve business as well as social objectives, yet there has been limited research comparing the effectiveness of this strategy to other communication methods that may achieve similar brand-related outcomes. Using an experimental design, we examine consumer attitudes toward CRM and CRM's impact on brand attitude compared with two other communication options: sponsorship and sales promotion. Our results show that consumers respond more positively to CRM and that this strategy can be more effective in achieving brand-related objectives. However, consumers must perceive that the partnered cause fits with the brand. In fact, perception of fit plays a more critical role in determining the impact of CRM than in the impact of sponsorship or sales promotion. These findings suggest that when firms are considering their communication mix, CRM can be a more effective way of developing favorable brand associations, but managers must associate with causes that consumers will perceive to fit with the brand. Furthermore, this fit should be communicated.     

Lesbian and gay expatriation: opportunities,barriers and challenges for global mobility

The research presented in this paper addresses an important gap in the expatriation literature in examining perceptions of opportunities, barriers and challenges for expatriation of lesbian and gay (LG) expatriates. This is an area that is under-researched despite such individuals representing a growing sector of the global talent pool. Based on an analysis of interviews with 20 LG expatriates, the study draws on social capital theory as a lens for highlighting LG expatriates' unique attributes and networks. The research is significant in suggesting that the expatriates' sexual minority status is viewed as both a disabler and enabler in expatriation. We suggest that there is a corporate ceiling for LG expatriates, and that they experience discrimination and stereotyping, and oftentimes limited organizational and host-country support. Significantly, the findings also extend research in suggesting that LG workers may have more opportunities in global staffing than previously thought and a valuable role in contributing to inclusivity debates and policy development on the global business stage. Furthermore, LG expatriates may be accepted in host countries when homosexuality is deemed legally or socially unacceptable for locals, and legal and financial independence within LG partnerships may provide them with more mobility than their heterosexual counterparts.     

Workplace bullying,workplace relationships and job outcomes for police officers in Australia

One alleged consequence of new public management (NPM) methods and practices, bullying, is seriously under-researched. The authors examined the impact of workplace relationships on police officer bullying and job outcomes. The quality of supervisor relationships seemed to buffer officers’ perceptions of bullying and, hence, their job outcomes. The consequences of the present post-NPM management practices are problematic, with negative implications for police officers in forming effective workplace relationships, which then negatively impact job outcomes, thereby affecting the quality of services delivered to the public.     

A Map Is Not a Territory—Making Research More Helpful for Sustainable Consumption Policy

The need to make consumption patterns more sustainable is widely acknowledged, yet effective policies for sustainable consumption are lacking. This article examines Nordic policy makers' views on why sustainable consumption research is difficult to apply in policy practice. We draw on the knowledge brokering literature to outline how the challenges of knowledge utilization in policy are connected to knowledge communication practices and to the types and scales of policy problems. Our empirical material is based on in-depth interviews with Nordic civil servants working with sustainable consumption issues. Our findings identify problems in sustainable consumption policy that are well documented in other fields, such as policy makers' lack of time and the inconclusiveness of research findings. However, we also identify more fundamental problems, which relate to administrative fragmentation and to the status of social science in policy making, as well as to the linear model of knowledge use in policy making in which administrators are forced to serve as knowledge brokers between researchers and policy makers. Our research suggests that better forms of knowledge dissemination are not sufficient to overcome these problems. New forms of knowledge co-production are needed, in which researchers, administrators, politicians, and other stakeholders work together to solve real-life problems and build up a shared knowledge community. We conclude by highlighting the implications for researchers aiming to promote change toward more sustainable consumption patterns.