Employee satisfaction with schedule flexibility: Psychological antecedents and consequences within the workplace

Although balancing work-related and non-work-related time demands is an ongoing concern for many hotel workers, there is a dearth of research examining workers’ satisfaction with their work schedule flexibility. Using a sample drawn from nine different hotel properties in South Korea, this study finds that workers’ levels of emotional intelligence and overall job satisfaction serve as antecedents of their schedule flexibility satisfaction. Moreover, the study also finds that decreased turnover intent is a consequence of schedule flexibility satisfaction. Based upon these findings, both managerial and research implications are presented.     

Does mandatory food safety training and certification for restaurant employees improve inspection outcomes?

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between mandatory food safety training and certification and inspection results of chain restaurants and independent restaurants, using current food safety inspection results of food service establishments in Central Florida. More specifically, this study examines whether there is any statistically significant difference in the violation frequency among chain and independent restaurants. Reducing the risk of any foodborne illness is a critical strategy that industry stakeholders should pursue in an area dominated by tourism such as Orlando, Florida. A one-way ANOVA was used to determine the differences between the two types of restaurants. Findings indicate that there is significant difference between chain and independent restaurants for critical violations. No difference was found when comparing chain verses independent restaurants for non-critical violations.     

Unequal effects of elders’ health problems on wealth depletion across race and ethnicity

We investigate the impact of health on wealth depletion of African American, Hispanic, and non‐Hispanic white elders. Using the data from 4,464 elderly households that participated in both the 1993 Asset and Health Dynamics of the Oldest Old and the 1998 Health and Retirement Study, we find that health problems contribute to wealth depletion differently across elders in different racial and ethnic groups. We draw policy implications from the findings regarding ways to help consumers protect their financial security from health shocks in later life.     

A Theory of Economic Obsolescence

A new generation of durable goods makes an old generation economically, even if not physically, obsolete. Economic obsolescence due to technological innovation requires the durable goods monopolist to implement price discrimination in two dimensions, both between consumers with different valuations and between consumers with different purchase histories. Equilibrium in the game between the durable goods monopolist and consumers depends on the extent of economic obsolescence and the relative sizes of the consumer groups. Underinvestment in innovation may take place. This contrasts with the standard literature on planned obsolescence where the durable goods monopolist overinvests in durability reducing technology.     

Microstructure-based manipulation: Strategic behavior and performance of spoofing traders

We examine how investors strategically spoof the stock market by placing orders with little chance of being executed, but which mislead other traders into thinking there is an imbalance in the order book. Using the complete intraday order and trade data of the Korea Exchange (KRX) in a custom data set identifying individual accounts, we find that investors strategically placed spoofing orders which, given the KRX's order-disclosure rule at the time, created the impression of a substantial order book imbalance, with the intent to manipulate subsequent prices. This manipulation, which made use of specific features of the market microstructure, differs from previously studied forms of manipulation based on information or transactions. Roughly half of the spoofing orders were placed in conjunction with day trading. Stocks targeted for manipulation had higher return volatility, lower market capitalization, lower price level, and lower managerial transparency. We also find that spoofing traders achieved substantial extra profits. The frequency of spoofing orders decreased drastically after the KRX altered its order-disclosure rule.     

Further Evidence on Insider Selling Prior to Seasoned Equity Offering Announcements: The Role of Growth Opportunities

Previous research documents significant abnormal net selling by insiders prior to seasoned equity offering announcements. This study documents that the abnormal net selling is significantly greater for growth firms than for mature firms. It also shows that growth firms experience poorer post-issue long-term price performance, which suggests greater overpricing for growth firms. Further analysis shows that greater insider selling prior to the offering announcement is associated with a greater price run-up prior to the announcement and is not associated with a more negative market reaction to the announcement. Overall, the results suggest that investors may be overly optimistic about future prospects of growth firms.     

Corporate strategy financialized: Conjuncture,arbitrage and earnings capacity in the S&P500

The conjuncture that ushered in the era of shareholder value served to embed capital market expectations into corporate governance aligning management and shareholder interests. Market arbitrage focussed on modifying contractual relations with stakeholders to extract a (higher) return on invested capital. In this article we focus on cash earnings on capital employed generated by the S&P 500 survivor group of firms covering the period 1990–2008. We use this financial data to construct three complementary perspectives on corporate financial performance: firm, firm-relative and macro. Within this framework the financial numbers and perspectives are analogous to a ‘hall of mirrors’ where ambiguity and contradiction are in play frustrating straightforward performative narratives that connect purpose with financial transformation an era of shareholder value.     

Cross-listing effect on information environment of foreign firms: ADR type and country characteristics

We examine sources of improvement in the information environment of foreign firms that cross-listed in the United States as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) between 1995 and 2005. We analyze changes in the number and dispersion of analyst recommendations on foreign firms following their cross-listing. We find increases in analyst coverage intensity across all four types of ADR programs, especially among firms that were listed on organized exchanges (the listing effect), and those that adopted capital raising ADR programs (the financing effect). Our results suggest that the listing effect is more persistent than the financing effect. On the other hand, reductions in recommendation dispersion are observed mainly for firms that choose non-capital raising ADRs and those from emerging markets. Overall, improvements in information environment are more profound among foreign firms originating from countries with greater information asymmetry, namely, countries with weaker legal tradition and rule of law, and countries that are less familiar to U.S. investors.