Do REITs use cash reserves efficiently? Evidence from corporate acquisitions

We examine the combined impact of corporate governance and excess cash holdings on the propensity of firms to become bidders and engage in value destroying acquisitions. We focus on the REIT market, due to its unique characteristics caused by regulation and the nature of the industry. The lack of active real estate takeover market should lead to entrenchment and exacerbate agency costs. However, given the mandatory high cash payout for REITs, the absence of takeover market should not cause concerns to shareholders. Our analyses reveal that unlike conventional firms, cash-rich REITs are not more likely to become acquirers and acquisitions by cash-rich REITs are not value decreasing. However, similarly to industrial firms, REITs with higher excess cash and lower insider ownership are more likely to become bidders. We interpret our results to be consistent with the hypothesis that agency problems are less severe in real estate and investors are not averse to use of excess cash by REIT managers on intra-industry acquisitions.     

The Other Side of Value: The Effect of Quality on Price and Return in Real Estate

We examine the effect of quality on price and return in real estate. Quality real estate stocks generally trade at higher prices. However, similar to findings in the aggregate stock market (Asness et al. 2013), quality in listed real estate is not fully reflected in price. A long quality, short junk portfolio (QMJ) is found to produce average risk-adjusted returns of 3.6 % per quarter (14.4 % annually). QMJ has a significantly positive coefficient when added as a dependent variable to a 4-factor model explaining U.S. real estate excess returns, including market, size, value and momentum factors, and leads to a small improvement in the overall fit of the model. Further investigation of the components of quality shows that profitability has a consistently positive relationship with real estate excess returns, while higher dividend payout is consistently associated with lower returns, in contrast to findings for conventional firms.     

Household adoption of smog protective behavior: a comparison between two Chinese cities

This study compares residents of two Chinese cities – one with a high risk and one with a low risk of air pollution, in terms of their smog experience, reliance on smog information sources, risk perception, attribution of responsibility and intention for adoption of protective behavior regarding smog. The results indicate that the two cities differ considerably in their smog experience, somewhat less so in reliance on smog information sources and risk perception, and very little in protective behavior. Using multiple regression analyses, the study revealed a basic chain of reaction in which demographic characteristics and location cause smog experience and smog information, smog experience and smog information cause risk perception, risk perception causes attribution of responsibility, and attribution of responsibility causes intention to adopt protective behavior. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed and recommendations for further research are suggested.     

Dynamic Embeddedness in Chinese Firm Internationalization

This article presents a multilevel framework to analyze the motivations and location choices of Chinese OFDIs. We contribute to theory‐integration on Chinese OFDI flows and patterns by suggesting a framework that combines country‐, industry‐ and firm‐level analyses and by reflecting aspects from the resource‐based view (firm‐specific advantages), institutional‐based view (push/pull home‐ and host‐­country factors), and network‐based view (network relations). We also explicitly incorporate “time” as a variable into our framework by introducing and explaining the concept of dynamic embeddedness as an interaction dimension to reflect the inherent dynamics on all levels and actors. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The governance of Olympic legacy: process,actors and mechanisms

The purpose of this research was to examine the governance system used to monitor and manage the legacy accrued as a result of bidding for and subsequently hosting the Olympic Games (OG). More specifically, this study aimed to (a) examine the legacy governance process from the bid phase to post-Games, and (b) to identify the governance controls (e.g. actors and mechanisms) that impacted the governance system responsible for legacy at the OG. Two cases within a multiple holistic case study design (i.e. the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games) were built using a combination of archival material and interviews. Findings highlighted four governance phases specific to OG legacy: conceptualisation, planning and implementation, transfer/transformation and post-Games governance. Two legacy-related governance controls emerged: actors (e.g. government, sport organisations) and mechanisms (e.g. laws, contracts, policy).     

The Effect of Legal Environment and Regulatory Structure on Performance: Cross-Country Evidence from REITs

The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics - We study the relationship between international REIT regulatory structures and real estate returns and find that the legal requirements that REITs...     

Innovations in financing: The impact of anchor investors in Indian IPOs

In 2009, the Securities Exchange Board of India allowed qualified institutional investors to anchor initial public offerings (IPOs) by participating in the issue at a price and allocation publicly disclosed preceding the issue. We study anchor investors (AIs) in Indian IPOs during 2009–2017. We find the share allotment and the number of AIs separately have significant impacts on valuation and underpricing; however, the net effect is nonsignificant. Further, AIs significantly influence other institutional investors' participation in the IPO and induce lower aftermarket volatility. Overall, our evidence suggests that AIs boost demand for and mitigate ex ante information uncertainty of IPOs.     

EFFECTS OF HIV/AIDS ON CHILDREN'S EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Over the last three decades, 35 million people have died of AIDS. As a result, HIV/AIDS has brought about a significant reduction in human capital, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Several studies have examined the effects of HIV/AIDS on human capital, in particular educational attainment. These studies have examined different countries, datasets, and educational outcomes. This systematic literature review provides a comprehensive up-to-date overview of peer-reviewed papers published in English by focusing on the main mechanisms that influence the effects of HIV/AIDS on educational outcomes. These are sickness of the child, orphanhood, and sickness of parents. The results show that educational outcomes of HIV-infected children, AIDS orphans, and children with HIV-infected parents are affected differently. HIV-infected children mainly miss school days due to illness and medical appointments, and orphans mainly face financial problems and lack motivation in their education, while children with HIV-infected parents may have to take care of their sick parents or face financial problems that affect their education. Distinguishing these groups of children could help to formulate policies that adequately improve schooling outcomes of these vulnerable children.     

Unstructured data in marketing

The rise of unstructured data (UD), propelled by novel technologies, is reshaping markets and the management of marketing activities. Yet these increased data remain mostly untapped by many firms, suggesting the potential for further research developments. The integrative framework proposed in this study addresses the nature of UD and pursues theoretical richness and computational advancements by integrating insights from other disciplines. This article makes three main contributions to the literature by (1) offering a unifying definition and conceptualization of UD in marketing; (2) bridging disjoint literature with an organizing framework that synthesizes various subsets of UD relevant for marketing management through an integrative review; and (3) identifying substantive, computational, and theoretical gaps in extant literature and ways to leverage interdisciplinary knowledge to advance marketing research by applying UD analyses to underdeveloped areas.     

The role of values for voluntary reductions of holiday air travel

Recent research has shown that holiday air travel constitutes a typical value-action gap as many people continue to fly despite their concerns about climate change. However, some people do voluntarily reduce their holiday flights. Little is known so far about the role that values play in this decision. This paper examines this question based on semi-structured interviews with participants in local climate change and energy-saving projects. It finds that people who voluntarily reduce their holiday air travel are more ready than those who continue to fly to accept that their behaviour makes a contribution to climate change; that they feel a moral imperative to act regardless of its effectiveness in mitigating climate change; and that they distance themselves from socially dominant norms related to holiday air travel. This paper argues that these characteristics are connected to values of self-transcendence and self-direction, and that in this way values remain important for understanding and supporting low carbon behaviour.