Minimum distance estimation of the errors-in-variables model using linear cumulant equations

We consider a multiple mismeasured regressor errors-in-variables model. We develop closed-form minimum distance estimators from any number of estimating equations, which are linear in the third and higher cumulants of the observable variables. Using the cumulant estimators alters qualitative inference relative to ordinary least squares in two applications related to investment and leverage regressions. The estimators perform well in Monte Carlos calibrated to resemble the data from our applications. Although the cumulant estimators are asymptotically equivalent to the moment estimators from Erickson and Whited (2002), the finite-sample performance of the cumulant estimators exceeds that of the moment estimators.     

Capital structure dynamics and transitory debt

Firms deliberately but temporarily deviate from permanent leverage targets by issuing transitory debt to fund investment. Leverage targets conservatively embed the option to issue transitory debt, with the evolution of leverage reflecting the sequence of investment outlays. We estimate a dynamic capital structure model with these features and find that it replicates industry leverage very well, explains debt issuances/repayments better than extant tradeoff models, and accounts for the leverage changes accompanying investment “spikes.” It generates leverage ratios with slow average speeds of adjustment to target, which are dampened by intentional temporary movements away from target, not debt issuance costs.     

Co-evolution of trust and dependence in customer–supplier relationships

The relational and dynamic aspects of interfirm trust and dependence produce a crucial, but insufficiently addressed, challenge for successful relationship coordination. In this paper we concentrate on this issue by examining how trust and dependence co-evolve in customer–supplier relationships. Building on a case study, we develop propositions and a model that illustrates how interorganizational trust and dependence co-evolve through the different phases of customer–supplier relationships and how we may distinguish cooperative and trustworthy actors from those who will behave opportunistically. Theoretical and practical implications are offered.     

Designing Visual Recognition for the Brand*

The present paper examines how companies strategically employ design to create visual recognition of their brands' core values. To address this question, an explorative in‐depth case study was carried out concerning the strategic design efforts of two companies: Nokia (mobile phones) and Volvo (passenger cars). It was found that these two companies fostered design philosophies that lay out which approach to design and which design features are expressive of the core brand values. The communication of value through design was modeled as a process of semantic transformation. This process specifies how meaning is created by design in a three‐way relation among design features, brand values, and the interpretation by a potential customer. By analyzing the design effort of Nokia and Volvo with the help of this model, it is shown that control over the process of semantic transformation enabled managers in both companies to make strategic decisions over the type, strength, and generality of the relation between design features and brand values. Another result is that the embodiment of brand values in a design can be strategically organized around lead products. Such products serve as reference points for what the brand stands for and can be used as such during subsequent new product development (NPD) projects for other products in the brand portfolio. The design philosophy of Nokia was found to depart from that of Volvo. Nokia had a bigger product portfolio and served more market segments. It therefore had to apply its design features more flexibly over its product portfolio, and in many of its designs the relation between design features and brand values was more implicit. Six key drivers for the differences between the two companies were derived from the data. Two external drivers were identified that relate to the product category, and four internal drivers were found to stem from the companies' past and present brand management strategies. These drivers show that the design of visual recognition for the brand depends on the particular circumstances of the company and that it is tightly connected to strategic decision making on branding. These results are relevant for brand, product, and design managers, because they provide two good examples of companies that have organized their design efforts in such a way that they communicate the core values of their brands. Other companies can learn from these examples by considering why these two companies acted as they did and how their communication goals of product design were aligned to those of brand management.     

How to measure the market power of banks in the lending business accurately: a segment-based adjustment of the Lerner Index

Numerous empirical studies use the price-cost-margin-based Lerner Index (LI) to assess the general market power of banks. A common procedure within those LI applications is to approximate the market price required for the LI measurement as the ratio of a bank’s total revenues to total assets. We discuss the major flaws of this aggregated procedure and propose an adjusted (i.e. business segment-orientated) LI approach, which is then applied to assess the market power of banks in the specific lending business at the country level. Our empirical study is based on an original data set containing all interest-related categories (weighted by the respective loan as well as deposit volumes) in the countries of the European Monetary Union zone (EMU) from 2003 to 2013. Our results reveal that the country-specific market power of banks in the lending business has been substantially underestimated in previous studies based on aggregated outputs. For example, averaged across the five most important economies in the EMU, we detect a calibration factor of four. Our findings corroborate the economic notion that the interest-bearing lending business is a more locally separated, and thus profitable, segment in which competition is attenuated.     

EXECUTIVE PAY AND THE DISCLOSURE ENVIRONMENT: CANADIAN EVIDENCE

We examine the economic consequences of the Ontario Securities Commission's requirement that firms disclose details of executive pay in proxy statements. Before 1993, Canadian firms only reported executive compensation in the aggregate. We predict the increased availability of compensation information will force boards of directors to compete in the managerial labor market by offering higher pay. We also predict public pressure on boards of directors to justify the level of executive pay will result in increased weight on incentive pay. The data support these hypotheses. We also document that pay‐performance sensitivity has increased. JEL classification: G30     

QUANTITATIVE STUDY ON THE IMPACT OF BRANCHLESS BANKING ON MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS

In this study, we examined how implementing branchless banking partnerships (BBPs) can enable microfinance institutions to improve their efficiency by reducing cash handling and to expand its product offering to savings. We examined the case of Attawfiq Microfinance in Morocco, that implemented a BBP strategy named Low Income Banking (LIB) in order to achieve increased efficiency and expand its product offering to savings through the LIB account offering. We studied how the customers of Attawfiq used the LIB account for transactional and savings purposes by analysing a large database of sociodemographic factors of customers and payments data of microcredits for the period 2010–15 (554,541 customers). We included in our analysis, for the first time to our knowledge, not only the study of the correlations between a very extensive dataset of sociodemographic variables and the use of bank accounts in terms of transactions and savings, but also the study of microcredit data as explanatory variables. Our study concluded that the BBP model implemented (LIB) allowed Attawfiq Microfinance to improve its operating efficiency although it failed to achieve increased savings.     

Repurchase intent antecedents of a competitive brand in the smartphones segment

This research has analyzed the influence of perceived value, affective commitment, normative commitment and positive word of mouth as antecedents of repurchase intention of smartphones of a particular brand. The analysis of the results was made by means of multivariate statistics, applying Structural Equation Modeling technique. The sample consisted of 283 valid cases. The results showed that perceived value positively influences the affective commitment and normative commitment; perceived value by customers does not positively influences positive word of mouth; affective commitment positively influences positive word of mouth; affective commitment positively influences repurchase intention; normative commitment positively influences repurchase intention; and positive word of mouth positively influences repurchase intention of a product of the same brand.