Theory and history in marketing

This article presents a theoretical foundation for marketing based on the ideas of the Austrian school of economists. After a discussion of the methodological foundations of Austrian economics, which reject the statistical and experimental methods of the physical sciences as the means to verify theory in the social sciences, the article presents the Austrians' principle of methodological individualism, which provides the basis for a theory of entrepreneurship and marketing.     

Post-IPO Operating Performance, Venture Capital and the Bubble Years

Abstract:  We analyse the post-issue operating performance of 316 venture-backed and 274 non-venture UK IPOs 1985–2003. The finding of a statistically significant five-year, operational decline exhibited over the full sample period is not robust. Rather it is driven by the dramatic underperformance during the 1998–2000 bubble years while IPOs perform normally in the remaining years. Cross-section regression results indicate support for venture capital certification in the non-bubble years but a significantly negative relationship between operating performance and venture capitalist board representation during the bubble years. The bubble year underperformance is explained by market timing and by low quality companies taking advantage of investor sentiment.     

Disproportional ownership structure and pay–performance relationship: Evidence from China's listed firms

This paper examines the impact of ownership structure on executive compensation in China's listed firms. We find that the cash flow rights of ultimate controlling shareholders have a positive effect on the pay–performance relationship, while a divergence between control rights and cash flow rights has a significantly negative effect on the pay–performance relationship. We divide our sample based on ultimate controlling shareholders' type into state owned enterprises (SOE), state assets management bureaus (SAMB), and privately controlled firms. We find that in SOE controlled firms cash flow rights have a significant impact on accounting based pay–performance relationship. In privately controlled firms, cash flow rights affect the market based pay–performance relationship. In SAMB controlled firms, CEO pay bears no relationship with either accounting or market based performance. The evidence suggests that CEO pay is inefficient in firms where the state is the controlling shareholder because it is insensitive to market based performance but consistent with the efforts of controlling shareholders to maximize their private benefit.     

An econometric assessment of telecommunications prices and consumer surplus in Mexico using panel data

We analyze telecommunications prices in Mexico by using a panel data of countries similar to Mexico to estimate demand models for mobile and fixed-line telecommunications. We find that Mexico’s actual mobile and fixed-line prices are below the predicted prices based on similar countries’ prices. Mexican consumers are paying lower prices than what one would expect based on comparisons of comparable countries. We calculate that in 2011 Mexican consumers received at least $4–$5 billion (USD) in consumer surplus from these lower mobile prices and in 2010 they received over $1 billion (USD) in consumer surplus from these lower fixed-line prices. These findings are in contrast to the general perception that concentrated telecommunications markets in Mexico are resulting in high prices and harming consumers.     

Does Volatility Improve UK Earnings Forecasts?

Abstract:  We investigate the relation between UK accounting earnings volatility and the level of future earnings using a unique sample comprising some 10,480 firm-year observations for 1,481 non-financial firms over the 1985–2003 period. The findings confirm the in-sample result of an inverse volatility-earnings relation only for the 1998–2003 sub-period and for the most profitable firms. The out-of-sample forecast accuracy for the top earnings quintile improves when volatility is added as a regressor to a model including only lagged earnings. The findings are consistent with the over-investment hypothesis and the view that the earnings of the most volatile firms tend to mean revert more rapidly.     

SMRP维修与可靠性指标的开发

维修与可靠性专业学会（SMRP）根据会员和工业界的需要,首先开发维修与可靠性（M＆R）专业名词的标准化工作。这项工作由SMRP最佳经验委员会负责实施。这个委员会已经开发了衡量关键M＆R业绩方法的定义,即通常所说的指标。通过小组讨论一致同意和有关专家的全面审查,包括利用网络调研,这些指标已经成为SMRP标准。因此,当寻找最佳经验时,这些标准可用于标准评定法（Benchmarking Process）中。     

6σ在设备维修改进项目中的应用(续)

六、分析阶段和工具分析阶段的目标是确定问题发生的原因。对测量阶段所收集的数据进行详细的分析,剖析因果关系和评估失效的原因和后果。此阶段使用的工具有：①排列图。②因果图。③5个“为什么”。④失效模式和影响分析。⑤故障树分析。⑥试验设计。     

Losses due to manipulation of social choice rules

In a companion paper, “Gains from Manipulating Social Choice Rules,” we analyzed the incentive to manipulate by considering the maximum number of ranks someone can gain in their preference ordering by manipulation. This paper treats the number of ranks someone else can lose due to manipulation. We find large classes of rules where that loss is very large, a few rules where the loss can be significantly smaller, and even some rules where no one ever loses—even though manipulation will take place.     

Evolution of a mutual fund market: Empirical analysis of simultaneous growth and decline by fund category in Indonesia

The mutual fund literature traditionally deals with the growth and decline of the funds management industry in a uni-dimensional, single equation framework. Numerous studies treat mutual fund starts, terminations, inflows, and outflows as independent phenomena. This paper investigates the role of the interdependence between mutual fund inflows and outflows and their determinants in the growth of the emerging Indonesian managed funds market. We find significant replacement and displacement effects between the outflows and inflows of fixed income, equity, and mixed funds. The evidence suggests studies of the development of mutual fund markets should take into account simultaneity between the expansion and declining of different fund categories.