Cross channel effects of search engine advertising on brick & mortar retail sales: Meta analysis of large scale field experiments on Google.com

We investigate the cross channel effects of search engine advertising on Google.com on sales in brick and mortar retail stores. Obtaining causal and actionable estimates in this context is challenging: Brick and mortar store sales vary widely on a weekly basis; offline media dominate the marketing budget; search advertising and demand are contemporaneously correlated; and estimates have to be credible to overcome agency issues between the online and offline marketing groups. We report on a meta-analysis of a population of 15 independent field experiments, in which 13 well-known U.S. multi-channel retailers spent over $4 Million in incremental search advertising. In test markets category keywords were maintained in positions 1-3 for 76 product categories with no search advertising on these keywords in the control markets. Outcomes measured include sales in the advertised categories, total store sales and Return on Ad Spending. We estimate the average effect of each outcome for this population of experiments using a Hierarchical Bayesian (HB) model. The estimates from the HB model provide causal evidence that increasing search engine advertising on broad keywords on Google.com had a positive effect on sales in brick and mortar stores for the advertised categories for this population of retailers. There also was a positive effect on total store sales. Hence the increase in sales in the advertised categories was incremental to the retailer net of any sales borrowed from non-advertised categories. The total store sales increase was a meaningful improvement compared to the baseline sales growth rates. The average Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is positive, but does not breakeven on average although several retailers achieved or exceeded break-even based only on brick and mortar sales. We examine the robustness of our findings to alternative assumptions about the data specific to this set of experiments. Our estimates suggest online and offline are linked markets, that media planners should account for the offline effects in the planning and execution of search advertising campaigns, and that these effects should be adjusted by category and retailer. Extensive replication and a unique research protocol ensure that our results are general and credible.     

Thinking Outside the Block: Projected Phases of Blockchain Integration in the Accounting Industry

This paper aims to propound a thorough and circumspect analysis of the implications of blockchain technology in the accounting profession and its broader industry. The analysis begins with a summary of early developments by first movers and how they are harnessing blockchain technology to improve business practices. Concomitantly, the paper will go on to discuss how this technology will streamline accounting processes, specifically as the technology approaches critical mass. Finally, a discussion of its long‐term implications will follow through a more philosophical and conceptual dialogue. Throughout the paper, criticisms will be raised to address concerns regarding blockchain's widespread use.     

A BSDE approach to fair bilateral pricing under endogenous collateralization

Nie and Rutkowski (Int. J. Theor. Appl. Finance 18:1550048, 2015; Math. Finance, 2016, to appear) examined fair bilateral pricing in models with funding costs and an exogenously given collateral. The main goal of this work is to extend results from Nie and Rutkowski (Int. J. Theor. Appl. Finance 18:1550048, 2015; Math. Finance, 2016, to appear) to the case of an endogenous margin account depending on the contract’s value for the hedger and/or the counterparty. Comparison theorems for BSDEs from Nie and Rutkowski (Theory Probab. Appl., 2016, forthcoming) are used to derive bounds for unilateral prices and to study the range for fair bilateral prices in a general semimartingale model. The backward stochastic viability property, introduced by Buckdahn et al. (Probab. Theory Relat. Fields 116:485–504, 2000), is employed to examine the bounds for fair bilateral prices for European claims with a negotiated collateral in a diffusion-type model. We also generalize in several respects the option pricing results from Bergman (Rev. Financ. Stud. 8:475–500, 1995), Mercurio (Actuarial Sciences and Quantitative Finance, pp. 65–95, 2015) and Piterbarg (Risk 23(2):97–102, 2010) by considering contracts with cash-flow streams and allowing for idiosyncratic funding costs for risky assets.     

Is there income mobility in the Philippines?

Despite a more robust economic performance over the past decade compared with the 1980s and 1990s, growth in average household income is still far below what might be expected given the pace of economic expansion in the Philippines. Inequality of household income has also remained high, which leads to the question: is there income mobility in the Philippines? Using longitudinal data from three years of the redesigned Philippine Family Income and Expenditure Survey (2003, 2006, and 2009) and a variety of analytical tools, we examine the mobility of Filipino household income and show that it is less stagnant than is conventionally perceived. Empirical evidence suggests that significant positive and negative mobility exists; albeit, the two tend to offset each other, contributing to slow household income growth at the aggregate level. In addition, there is some evidence that transitory fluctuations contribute significantly to the observed level of income mobility. Overall, the findings are robust across different analytical tools used in measuring income mobility.     

A choice modelling case study on climate change involving two-way interactions

Choice Modelling applications can be designed to estimate main effects only or multiple-way interactions between attributes. It has been reported that higher order effects generally account for less than 10% of the choice explanation. Nevertheless, the amount of applications testing for interactions among attributes in environmental valuation is very limited. This paper reports a Choice Modelling exercise valuing climate change impacts on plant cover, land erosion and fire risk in Spanish shrublands. Two out of three two-way interactions were found significant and to account for more than 20% of the choice model explanation. Their contribution to the log-likelihood value was comparable to the one of the main effects variables. Moreover, accounting for second order interactions significantly altered the estimates of the implicit prices of attributes compared to the main effects specifications.     

Self‐Financing Trading Strategies for Sliding, Rolling‐Horizon, and Consol Bonds

The time evolution of a sliding bond is studied in discrete‐ and continuous‐time setups. By definition, a sliding bond represents the price process of a discount bond with a fixed time to maturity. Examples of measure‐valued trading strategies (introduced by Bjork et al. 1997a, 1997b) which are based on the price process of a sliding bond are discussed. In particular, a self‐financing strategy that involves holding at any time one unit of a sliding bond is examined (the wealth process of this strategy is referred to as the rolling‐horizon bond). In contrast to the sliding bond, which does not represent a tradable security, the rolling‐horizon bond (or the rolling‐consol bond) may play the role of a fixed‐income security with infinite lifespan in portfolio management problems.     

Business or Basic Needs? The Impact of Loan Purpose on Social Crowdfunding Platforms

Journal of Business Ethics - Crowdfunding has created new opportunities for poor microentrepreneurs. One crucial question is the impact that the purpose of a loan—either business investment...     

Green Microfinance in Europe

As global warming continues to attract growing levels of attention, various stakeholders (states, general public, investors, and lobbyists) have put climate change on corporate agendas and expect firms to disclose relevant greenhouse gas (GHG) information. In this paper, we investigate the consistency of the GHG information voluntarily disclosed by French listed firms through two different communication channels: corporate reports (CR) and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). More precisely, we contrast the amounts of GHG emissions reported and the methodological explanations provided (named ‘traceability’) in each channel. Consistent with a stakeholder theory perspective, we find that GHG amounts are significantly lower in the CR than in the CDP. We also find that firms increase the CR figures’ traceability when there is a discrepancy between disclosures in the two channels. We suggest that the aim of this greater traceability is to enhance information credibility across the different channels used.