Determinants of the Performance of Investment Promotion Agencies: Evidence from a Mix of Emerging Economies

This article argues whether and how investment promotion agencies (IPAs) efficiently influence investment promotion in the cases of the following selected variables: resources (experience, total staff, and overseas staff), service functions (combined promotion service of inward investment and trade, and inward and outward investment), and organizational structure (autonomous status of private/upper ministry-level IPAs). The results reveal a positive relationship between IPA’s performance and longer experience, larger staff, larger overseas IPA staff members, autonomous private agency types, and upper ministry-level IPAs. However, an IPA’s performance was negatively associated with the combined promotional service of inward investment and trade, and inward and outward investment. The results suggest that an IPA’s performance can be enhanced by adjusting the service functions and restructuring the governance and structure in addition to improving the IPA’s resources and the country’s investment climate.     

Intrapreneurship model in the software industry

Quality & Quantity - The complexity of business dynamics demands that companies search for alternative ways to ensure their growth and survival. Thus intrapreneurship emerges as an ad-hoc...     

Modelling tourist flow association for tourism demand forecasting

The purpose of this study is to examine tourism demand for Singapore from 1995 to 2013 by six major origin countries which belong to three different regions. Unlike prior tourism research, we take into account the dependence relations among the different tourist flows via copula. Copula is a statistical model of dependence and measurement of association. Specifically, we investigate the association between two tourist flows in each region. Based on empirical copula estimation, the Frank function has been identified as the most appropriate to capture the pairwise dependence structures of tourist flows. The copula-based approach combined with econometric models is proposed for tourism demand analysis that can be used to predict tourist arrivals. We apply the copula-ARDL and copula-ECM frameworks to generate joint forecasts of tourist arrivals from three regions. The findings show that the forecast performance of the Frank copula-based model outperforms the benchmark model which corresponds to the independence structure (no association) of tourist flows.     

Financial crisis and stock market efficiency: Empirical evidence from Asian countries

This paper empirically investigates the effects of the 1997 financial crisis on the efficiency of eight Asian stock markets, applying the rolling bicorrelation test statistics for the three sub-periods of pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis. On a country-by-country basis, the results demonstrate that the crisis adversely affected the efficiency of most Asian stock markets, with Hong Kong being the hardest hit, followed by the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Korea. However, most of these markets recovered in the post-crisis period in terms of improved market efficiency. Given that the evidence of nonlinear serial dependencies indicates equilibrium deviation resulted from external shocks, the present findings of higher inefficiency during the crisis are not surprising as in the chaotic financial environment at that time, investors would overreact not only to local news, but also to news originating in the other markets, especially when the news events were adverse.     

Firm diversification and earnings management: evidence from seasoned equity offerings

Popular press suggests that diversified firms are more aggressive in managing earnings than non-diversified firms. We examine this claim in the seasoned equity offering (SEO) setting, where firms have been shown to have the incentive to manage earnings upwards. Using the cross-sectional modified Jones [(1991) J Accounting Res 29:193–228] model to measure discretionary current accruals, we find that discretionary current accruals are higher among diversified firms than in non-diversified ones. Our evidence is consistent with the view that the extent of firm diversification is directly related to the degree of earnings management. We further show that diversified issuers with high discretionary accruals underperformed other SEO firms.

Auditor Quality,IFRS Adoption,and Stock Price Crash Risk: Korean Evidence

This paper investigates the relationship among auditor quality, International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) adoption and stock price crash risk. Using 657 unique listed companies spanning 2002–2014 in Korea, this study finds that stock price crash risk decreases, especially for firms using Big 4 auditors, after IFRS adoption in Korea. Stock price crash risk decreases for a firm included in Big 4 auditors, while it does not increase for a firm excluded from Big 4 auditors after IFRS adoption. Finally, this study finds that Big 4 auditor decreases stock price crash risk only when the firm size is above-median.     

Linking corporate sustainability and innovation in supply chain management – evidence of a Taiwan leading glass recycling company

This empirical study presents a combination of insights from corporate sustainability practices, supply chain management, and innovation literature, and a case study to discover new understandings on factors influencing firms to incorporate sustainable innovation initiatives into their supply chain practices. There is an apparent lack of literature in this field due to its modernity and evolving nature. Also, there is a lack of insights into how firms could translate sustainable innovation initiatives into practice. This study addresses this gap by examining a successful glass recycling company through the lenses of sustainable innovation context and the Global Reporting Initiative G3 Guideline framework. Primary data are collected through observations and in-depth interview before it is coded and analysed using nVivo. The findings show that sustainable innovation practices are mainly directed at improving the technological processes, resource sharing, and reduction of production cost among supply chain partners. A conceptual sustainable innovation framework is also proposed. This study contributes to sustainable innovation literature by providing insights into the evaluation of a firm's innovative sustainability efforts.     

Modeling Mexican agricultural production

Results of time series tests (including unit root and deterministic and stochastic cointegration tests) imply that a mixture of differenced and cointegrated model specifications are warranted for econometric models of Mexican agricultural supplies and input demands. Test results are sensitive to choice of functional form and the set of regressors. For example, share equations should be estimated using differenced data, but output supply and input demand equations generally should not. Generalized Leontief and quadratic functional forms are preferred over the translog. Symmetry and curvature of a restricted profit function are rejected. Short-run output supplies and input demands are generally inelastic. First version received: February 1998/Final version received: November 1998     

Trainee perceptions of factors that influence learning transfer

The focus of the study was to assess learning transfer made by HRD professionals from a Korean organization for a training program on performance improvement technologies. Results revealed multiple reasons for high or low transfer and provide insights into the design of highly transferable training programs.